Composition and focusing photography skills of parent-child photography

Lead: Children are lively and active, unlike adults who will stand up slowly to take pictures of you, so focusing is very important for taking pictures of children. Then how do I focus when shooting children in different situations? How is the camera's focusing system set? Let me share it!

Example 1: The children stand still and take pictures of you slowly.

My camera settings:

AF zone mode? Single point autofocus

Focus mode? Auto focus (single servo AF-S)

When shooting a child, I am used to aiming the lens at the child's eyes or face, because this can ensure a clear expression of the child, especially in the case of a large aperture. Because the depth of field of the large aperture is too shallow, if you focus on the child's body, then the face will be blurred.

Shutter 1/60s | Aperture f/ 1.4 | ISO 12800

In addition, I like to write my composition first, and then concentrate. That is, I think about the position of the child in the picture in advance and move the single focus of the camera to that position, so that I can press the shutter as soon as the child is in place. In this way, the success rate of focusing will be greatly improved and the shooting speed will be faster. Of course, if the child moves too fast, take the traditional one? Focus first, then composition? It's okay (that is, focus on the camera's preset center point, then move the camera to make a composition, and finally press the shutter), but the success rate of focusing will be reduced!

Example 2: When children move or play fast.

My camera settings:

AF zone mode? Dynamic area autofocus

Focus mode? Auto focus? Continuous servo AF-C

When I shoot a child moving or playing fast, I will focus on the child's eyes or face first, and because I choose the continuous servo AF-C relationship, the camera's focusing system will continue to follow the child when the child moves. As long as I keep half-pressing the shutter and move the lens with the child's movements, once I meet the satisfactory composition and movements, I can shoot at the shutter at once, then I will definitely be able to shoot the actions you want to shoot clearly!

Shutter 1/400s | Aperture f/2.8 | ISO 400

Shutter 1/400s | Aperture f/2.8 | ISO 400

Shutter 1/400s | Aperture f/2.8 | ISO 400

Of course, you can also use the high-speed shutter continuous shooting to capture a series of actions, and then you can choose the photos you want.

Example 3: Low Angle Shooting

My camera settings:

AF zone mode? Automatic area autofocus

Focus mode? Auto focus (single servo AF-S)

Sometimes it is necessary to shoot children at a low angle for composition, but it is impossible to shoot them through the viewfinder. I will choose automatic area autofocus, and the camera will help me decide the focus. Because I usually take close-ups in this way, the chances of focusing accurately are very high.

Shutter 1/250s | Aperture f/2 | ISO 500

In addition, there is another focusing method called trap focusing, which is usually used to shoot insects such as butterflies and nectar. Sometimes I use it for fun!

Manually focus on where the child will arrive.

It seems that children usually move quickly on swings. We can use the manual focusing mode to focus on the place where the child will arrive, and press the shutter when the child swings to the in-focus position, so that we can also take clear photos!

However, if this focusing method is inexperienced or has poor eyesight, the success rate will be greatly reduced, and it takes constant practice and some luck to succeed. So this method is definitely not the best! But the introduction here is just to share other methods, because this is the fun of photography!