From the course: Video Foundations: Cameras and Shooting

Unlock the full course today

Join today to access over 22,500 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.

Understanding how to focus

Understanding how to focus

From the course: Video Foundations: Cameras and Shooting

Start my 1-month free trial

Understanding how to focus

“

Now let's talk about the all- important subject of focus. A clear and sharp picture is a hallmark of the professional shooter. Pay constant attention to your focus whenever you shooting video, regardless of whether you're using a camera that costs $2,000 or $200,000, or whether you're shooting stills, video, or film. There is still only one way to do it right, and that's manually. So make sure your camera is in Manual Focus mode, then follow these simple steps. First, you want to zoom fully into your subject. If your subject is a person, you always want to zoom into their eyes, not their nose, not their chin, not their outfit, but their eyes every single time--the window to the soul. Next set your focus by adjusting the focus ring or focus wheel, whichever one your camera has. Lastly, pull back to adjust your shot to the desired composition. If you do it this way every single time, you are now free to zoom and readjust your shot without fear of ever losing focus. As long as both you…

Contents