English 150
Photographing a moving subject
Situation: You would like to snap an action shot of a moving child or pet. The
autofocus is activated, but because the subject is moving, the image may be
blurred. In particular, when the distance between the camera and the subject
is changing, it is difficult to lock the focus on the subject. Here are some hints
for successfully capturing images of moving subjects.
k Reasons for unfocused images
When the shutter button is touched lightly, the camera’s autofocus works by
determining the distance between the camera and the subject. Once the
subject is in focus, if it then moves before the picture is snapped, the image
may be out of focus. This often happens when you once lock the focus on a
subject and then wait for the right moment to snap the picture. And,
conversely, a blurred image may result if you press the shutter button all the
way in one step in an attempt to quickly capture an action scene, thus failing
to activate the autofocus in time.
k Preventing blurred images (How to use the manual focus [page 60])
In addition to the autofocus, a manual focus mode is also incorporated in your
camera. In the autofocus mode, the distance between the camera and the
subject is automatically determined when you press the shutter button
halfway. In contrast to this, with the manual focus mode, you manually set the
focus by specifying the correct distance between the camera and the subject
before taking the picture.
k How to photograph a moving subject
1 Set the camera’s focus mode to the manual focus. Set the focus distance
to the correct distance between the camera and the subject.
2 When the subject is at the set focus distance, gently press the shutter
button all the way down.
<Advantage of using the manual focus>
i Images can be quickly captured without waiting for the autofocus to
activate.
i Because you are presetting the focus distance, the focus can be more
accurate.
<Using the manual focus effectively>
i When photographing a moving subject, press the shutter button just before
the subject reaches the focus distance, and the shutter will be released
when the subject is at the correct distance.
i Use manual focus to avoid incorrectly focused images when there is an
object between the camera and the subject you wish to focus on.
