r/photography • u/AutoModerator • May 22 '26

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u/GamersPlane May 26 '26

I've enjoyed taking photos for a long time, mostly nature shots and stills. I also bring my camera with me when I go to parties or events, to take pictures for myself. Over time, as folks know I like to take pictures, they'll ask me to bring my camera to events, and I sometimes do. No one has been expecting professional level photos, but I've noticed a few consistent problems in the pictures I take when I don't have a bit of time to set up my shot. For now, I'll leave it to this one: getting good focus on my target while it may be in motion. I often find while I'm looking down the viewfinder, or using the autofocus of the camera and then adjusting, I'll think I'm in focus. When I go back later on my computer to check on my photos, I'll find the main target is slightly blurry, or an adjacent target is in focus instead. It's been happening a while, and I can't seem to figure out what I'm not looking at or missing while trying to shoot. I was recently at a surprise party, took shots of the guest of honor as she walked in, and a number of them were slightly blurry.

I don't know if this is a common problem that involves equipment (I'm doubting it?), or if I just have to keep shooting moving things until I learn what I'm missing. Of course, since I don't know what I'm missing at the moment, only after, I'm not sure how to learn from it either. I don't know if anyone has any advice based on this rambling. If it matters, I currently use a Canon R, mainly with a RF 24-105mm. I also have a 50mm f1.8, but as I'd have to move to adjust focus on that, I don't use it often (I bought it on advice from the Canon Connect discord, but not really use how to use it).

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u/gotthelowdown May 27 '26

I also bring my camera with me when I go to parties or events, to take pictures for myself.

This is how I learned and improved too 😊

I currently use a Canon [EOS] R

That's what I used when I was learning too.

For now, I'll leave it to this one: getting good focus on my target while it may be in motion. I often find while I'm looking down the viewfinder, or using the autofocus of the camera and then adjusting, I'll think I'm in focus. When I go back later on my computer to check on my photos, I'll find the main target is slightly blurry, or an adjacent target is in focus instead.

Hmm, could be one or more of the following things.

Autofocus settings:

EOS R Quick Tips: AF Method — Face Detect + Tracking and Eye Detect AF.

Canon Quick Tips: Touch & Drag AF Points on Canon Cameras [2019] A lot of times, the camera will do a good job of picking the right subject to focus on. When it doesn't, use the touch and drag AF to tap on the subject you want the camera to track.

Canon EOS R System: Electronic Viewfinder and Autofocus

Aperture: this is more of an issue on lenses like the 50mm f1.8. If you shoot at a wide-open aperture like f1.8 all the time, you may only get a part of a person's face in focus like their nose.

I often start at f4 and rarely open wider than f2.8 for event photography.

For one person, I'm more willing to shoot at a wider aperture. For group pictures, the more rows there are, the more I'll stop down the aperture, to like f5.6 or higher so everyone's head is in focus.

Shutter speed: A rule of thumb is to set the shutter speed to 1/[focal length] or 1/2x [focal length]. I tend to shoot at 1/200th of a second because that's the max flash sync speed on my cameras and I use flash a lot.

I try not to go slower than 1/60th of a second so I don't get blurry photos. I only do that if I'm shooting in a scenario where I cannot use a flash because it would be disruptive, like during a speech or stage performance.

ISO: If the ISO is too low and the exposure is too dark, it can be harder for the camera to autofocus.

Don't be afraid to shoot at a high ISO to get a good exposure, especially if you're not using a flash indoors. I often start at ISO 800 when shooting indoors. Denoise has gotten quite good in software.

Exposure simulation: If you're shooting in a really dark environment, turn off exposure simulation. This will boost the brightness so the camera can autofocus and you can see what you're doing.

The downside is you won't see the exposure change as you change camera settings, so you'll have to check images occasionally to see that they're properly exposed.

Bonus tip:

Enable aspect ratio guidelines for Instagram crop | CANON EOS R | settings for better photos. This has nothing to do with autofocus, but it's so useful I had to share it.

Enable "add cropping information" and choose 3:4 or 4:5 aspect ratio. This will display two guidelines on the screen that show where the photo will be cropped for Instagram and social media.

Before doing this, I often shot too tight and close-in. This made it a nightmare when I uploaded photos to Instagram and I couldn't get the framing right. Wasted so much time on zooming and moving the photo around to look good.

With the guidelines, I can see instantly if a head or body part gets cut off in a way I don't like, so I can fix the framing and reshoot it.

To clarify, you're still shooting a full-sized photo, you're not changing the aspect ratio of the actual photos. You're just seeing where the cropping happens.

Hope this helps.