How to focus when shooting a road race

1. The most luck-based method: autofocus. This is the simplest way to capture a photo. Slightly better cameras have autofocus systems. If the camera is equipped with a lens with a short focal length and a large angle of view, place the moving subject in the ranging frame in the center of the viewfinder. It’s relatively easy; if the camera is equipped with a long focal length lens of more than 200 mm, it may be difficult to track the subject and align it with the ranging frame due to the small angle of view. In order to adapt to this situation, you might as well change the above habits. You can temporarily ignore the range of the viewfinder frame and only use the ranging frame to track the subject. This may feel easier. If the subject is moving violently, time does not allow the use of a locking device, and the composition requires the subject to be placed outside the center of the frame, then the autofocus must be released and manual focus must be used.

2. The method that requires the most prediction: trap focusing. This is a commonly used focusing method when taking sports photos. Simply put, when the subject enters the predetermined focus, the camera shutter is pressed immediately. Some advanced cameras have this type of capability. Trap focusing is very suitable for sports photography. It is ideal to use this method to photograph athletes in motion. When shooting, you can first adjust the focus to a certain point that the athlete may pass by. Then lock the focus so that it no longer moves back and forth, and finally press the shutter depending on when the athlete moves in front of the camera, and you can take a photo with high definition.

3. The safest method: prepare multiple zoom lenses in advance. Some professional photographers carry three cameras on their backs every time they take a photo. The focus of each camera is determined as follows: if it is 10 meters away from your location, use a 100mm zoom lens with a focal length of 100; if it is 20 meters away, use a 100mm zoom lens with a focal length of 100; Use a 200mm zoom lens with a focal length of 200; for a distance of 30 meters, use a 300mm zoom lens with a focal length of 300. He believes that this way, you don’t have to be distracted to adjust the focus when shooting, and you can judge which camera to use based on visual inspection. This way you won’t miss every wonderful moment.

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Notes

1. Prevent vibration. Vibration will cause the image in the photo to shake and blur, even if the original focus of the image is very accurate, it will also affect the clarity of the image. There are generally two reasons for vibration: First, camera vibration, that is, when the shutter is pressed, the camera shakes due to unstable control. The second is that the subject moves, that is, at the moment when the lens shutter is opened, the subject itself is in motion, but the shutter speed is not high enough and the movement is not frozen, so the image is blurred. There is only one way, and that is to increase the shutter speed. As long as conditions permit, the faster the shutter speed, the better the effect.

2. Don’t pursue a small aperture one-sidedly. Beginners believe that a small aperture will increase the depth of field and will definitely make the image clearer. Therefore, they often close the aperture very small regardless of the situation. Especially when they are not sure about the focus, they believe that a small aperture can help them. But the end result of this is often unsatisfactory, because using a small aperture will result in a slow shutter speed and thus camera shake. Therefore, it is not a good idea to pursue a small aperture one-sidedly. The correct approach should be to actively use a high-speed shutter and a tripod.