Zone focusing

Unless you come from a film background, you've probably never heard of this concept. And if you only use a new super-duper "digital lens", then it's probably not in your repertoire either... Well that's 98% of the consumers probably, so why blog about it? Because, its by far the best technique for candid and creative street shooting!

By the time you raise your camera, untangle the strap from around your neck (the last place your strap should be!), turn your camera on, compose the scene, get your AF point where you want, AF, and release, the "moment" is usually a fleeting memory at that point. Furthermore, if your shooting people, you've alerted them, and people change when they have a camera poked in their face. Zone focusing is about being ready, capturing an image in a split second, in short --being proactive and not reactive. The speed is gained by focusing not on a particular subject, but to have everything within a range or "zone" in focus. Another element it introduces is creativity as you can introduce different perspectives. Why shoot everything from the eye level of humans? Yawn! Shoot from the hip, shoot over your head-- mix it up!!!

Sounds good, but is it hard? NO! I have MANY friends that have spent a large amount of money on equip and have never taken their camera out of P, auto, etc mode! ACK! Believe me-- I give them a mouthful too. This isn't to say that these modes are ok for certain events, but your camera is a tool and you shoot know how to use it... don't limit yourself. If someone is interested in auto everything and a mega zoom so they don't have to ever change lenses, then a quality point and shoot makes much "moire" sense.


What you need (recommended):

-- a SLR, either digital or film
-- a 24, 35, or 50mm manual focus lens. A newer AF design can be set to manual, but it's clear than lens manufacturers have for the most part abandoned manual focusers as the aperture rings and distance displays on lenses are next to useless.

Steps:

1. Understand aperture and DOF. Here's great website that I enjoy with fancy charts and calculators:

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html


Just about any photography text worth their salt will explain aperture and depth of field as well. Read a couple pages and you shall understand all you need to.


2. Familiarize yourself with your lenses and manually setting the f-stop and focus:

Two very different lenses (my trusty 24 AIS and 50 AF-D), but same basic layout

Towards the base of the lens, you will see an aperture ring with an associated f-stop. If you can't rotate it, then it's probably locked. In that case, look for a small orange or red switch next to aperture ring. The other control is the focus ring on the lens. As you turn the focus ring, it changes the focal point. In reality, there is a range of acceptable focus, which is also displayed on the barrel of the lens. The following image shows the location and what each of these look like:

Comment: for street photography, photojournalism, etc a fast 24, 35, or 50mm lens is ideal depending on your camera or, if digital, the sensor type.

3. Practice estimating distance and focusing indoors without looking into the viewfinder. Once you have the hang of it, head out on the streets.

4. Set focus to infinity. Set aperture to f/8 or f/11 for starters, but it depends on your content and how your shooting (i.e. if you know roughly what distance and depth of field your interested in, set aperture now). Yes, by minimizing uncertainty, you react quicker.

5. See something interesting? Estimate distance, turn the focus ring by looking at the range in feet/meters on the lens, glance at the aperture to make sure it's set correctly, Shoot! Shooting in the manner with a digital body is a great way to practice because, there's going to be a fair amount of trial and error + it's great to get immediate feedback in the LCD screen!