The Digital Photography Book

If What You’re Shooting Moves, Do This . . .

By default, your camera assumes that what you’re shooting is just sitting there, not moving, like a still life shot of some apples in a bowl. So, its focus mode is set for that—things that don’t move. That’s why you get so many photos that are out of focus when you shoot something that moves, like a bird, or wildlife, or any sport, or a toddler. When what you’re shooting moves, to get a lot more of the shot in focus, you want to change your camera’s focus mode to one designed for moving objects—one that uses predictive tracking, which locks onto your image as you follow along, aiming at the subject, ...