- When it comes to taking a picture, of course, the shutter release button is your primary button. And this little button does a lot. At least normally it does a lot. By default, of course, is that you take the picture you can activate automatic exposure, metering. You can even activate auto-focus. That's all by default with most cameras. But I find that that's asking too much of that one little button, and I would rather separate out the auto-focus. And so I'm a huge fan of employing back-button auto-focus. I'm able to then separate the exposure and the taking of the picture with actually focusing on the scene.
And that's especially helpful when I want to re-frame. I want to focus on one thing and then re-frame. Let's assume, for example, there's some wonderful reflections on the water here. Perhaps I'm photographing this little railing. I could set my focus, and then re-compose to get more of the water in the frame, for example. Or, with this larger, beautiful scene behind me, if I want to make sure that as much of this scene is in focus as possible, I would want to focus on the land over toward the left. It's getting some wonderful sunlight on it. And then re-compose, re-frame the scene, so I've got the water, and the city in the background.
And so that becomes very easy. I simply point at the area that I want to focus on, activate that auto-focus, and then I can re-compose (camera clicks) and capture my image. Now, that essentially is a one-shot type of of focus. In other words, I'm establishing focus, and then discontinuing that focusing so that the focus is locked. I just then need to make sure when I'm using that back button focus in that way that I'm not changing my distance to the subject. So if I were focusing on this railing, and then I recompose by getting closer to the railing, that distance has changed, and therefore I'll need to re-focus.
To enable me to enable the process of both one shot plus continuous auto-focus, I'm actually setting my camera to the continuous auto-focus option. So as long as I'm holding my back button auto-focus button on the back of the camera, the camera is actively trying to re-focus on whatever subject is within that focusing point. And so I can press and hold and keep that button down if, for example, I'm photographing a moving subject. Perhaps one of the geese on the water flies by, and I decide to get a shot of just that goose, then I can press and hold with continuous auto-focus active as long as I'm holding that back button auto-focus button, I'll be continuously focusing.
But then in a situation like this where I want to focus on one area and recompose, I can press that back button, focus button on the back of the camera, focus on the subject that I want to focus on, release that button so that I'm no longer adjusting focus, and then re-compose. Once again, making sure that I'm maintaining the same distance between my camera, the lens, and the subject that I've focused on. So I find that that back button focus can be tremendously helpful. Separating the taking of the picture, the metering off of that shutter release button, and onto that back button focus. The key thing, though, is to make sure that you practice.
When you first change your camera settings to employ back button focus, disabling focus on the shutter release button, you do need to make sure that you're actually focusing. If you're not in the habit of pressing that back button, then you'll be taking pictures thinking you're focusing, when in fact you're not activating auto-focus. But once it becomes a habit where you're pressing that back button, I think you'll find that it gives you a lot more flexibility, a lot more control, and you'll still be able to employ that automatic focus capability of your camera with greater results.
Author
Updated
11/28/2019Released
7/7/2017Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
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Powered USB hub1m 22s
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Introduction
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Previous Episodes
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Using a Lensbaby2m 14s
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Camera bag options4m 45s
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Dual-slot cameras1m 51s
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Xenon flash for iPhone2m 46s
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Conference Intro3m 39s
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Commuter bags3m 21s
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Lens upgrade4m 33s
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Lens flipper2m 59s
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Drive savers3m 30s
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Photo books5m 31s
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SanDisk cards8m 32s
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LaCie drives4m 1s
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Remote cable release1m 29s
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Teleconverter1m 18s
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Printing a Lens Hood1m 23s
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Why Use Manual Exposure?2m 37s
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Focusing with Live View1m 45s
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Diopter adjustment1m 59s
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GPS battery drain1m 33s
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Two cards in the camera2m 42s
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Easing into manual mode2m 32s
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The camera as a card reader1m 17s
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Camera power adapter1m 21s
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Custom Camera Settings3m 39s
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Long Lens Compression Myth3m 11s
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Battery Pouch1m 31s
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Prynt Pocket Printer4m 49s
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Choosing Photo Papers4m 51s
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Polarizing filter magic1m 53s
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Tablet signature challenge2m 50s
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Color space in the camera2m 53s
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Smartphone accessory lenses2m 39s
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Card wallet tips2m 38s
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How many aperture blades?3m 20s
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Autoexposure bracketing2m 41s
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Cotton carrier2m 11s
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Zip your bag!1m 42s
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Using a reflector1m 11s
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Road trip power1m 42s
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Spider camera holster1m 20s
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WhiBal precision gray card2m 39s
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Hanging branch boxes1m 24s
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Air blower for cleaning1m 59s
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Cleaning your own sensor4m 52s
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Batteries in the cold1m 35s
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Waterproof cameras1m 47s
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Wi-Fi in the camera2m 35s
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Wireless Bluetooth remote1m 46s
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Bus-powered storage1m 56s
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Built-in digital level1m 34s
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Depth-of-field preview2m 14s
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Why is this lens so heavy?2m 26s
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Flash exposure compensation2m 10s
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Lens lock2m 7s
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Mirror lockup2m 21s
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Rugged storage1m 47s
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Camera star ratings1m 21s
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Custom menu on a camera2m 2s
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In-camera time lapse2m 2s
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Hair dryer for lens fogging2m 10s
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LensCoat lens covers1m 39s
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Flash basics3m 13s
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Recording a GPS track log1m 40s
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Gimbal stabilizer1m 32s
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ExpoDisc for white balance2m 12s
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Automatic panoramas1m 11s
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KUVRD universal lens cap1m 12s
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Focus confirmation1m 50s
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"Normal" focal length1m 59s
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Custom SLR glide strap1m 11s
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Light meter apps2m 22s
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Loupe for sensor dust1m 27s
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Focal length planning2m 36s
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LensPen for sensor cleaning1m 38s
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360-degree camera3m 10s
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iPhone portrait mode4m 7s
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Why shoot with film?2m 59s
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Dust removal in the camera3m 41s
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Voice memos for photos2m 5s
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Choosing media card capacity2m 48s
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Photo review on the go3m 5s
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Planning a moon shot4m 50s
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Clean that front element2m 2s
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All about starbursts4m 47s
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End of day camera reset1m 59s
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Firmware updates2m 5s
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How many autofocus points?2m 24s
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Histogram options2m 6s
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Power off for lens changing1m 28s
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Don't forget to rotate1m 19s
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Exposure blinkies1m 36s
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What makes a lens digital?2m 43s
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Autofocus range limiter1m 44s
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Photo sharing with AirDrop2m 17s
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Track log on a DSLR1m 32s
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Built-in "cable" release1m 21s
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Chimping: Good or bad?1m 11s
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The shutter speed fallacy1m 48s
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Panning with precision1m 39s
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Media card adapter1m 25s
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The blindfold test1m 30s
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Film scanning services1m 29s
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Photo lamps1m
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Lens adapter for mirrorless1m 18s
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Focus peaking1m 43s
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Sling bags1m 22s
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Mirrorless battery dilemma1m 42s
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Metal prints1m 8s
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Video: Back button autofocusing for faster framing