Nature Photography How To

Wouldn’t it be nice if all you had to do to nail focus is push a magic button? Unfortunately, sharp photos take a lot more than that. Today's tutorial with instructor Jan Wegener reveals several oft-ignored tweaks and techniques that enable him to consistently achieve superior results. You can do the same by following his straightforward advice.

Wegener is a notable Australian pro whose been an accomplished bird photographer for more than two decades. He says, "I love helping others in their quest to capture and edit stunning nature photos and choose the best gear for the job." The techniques he reveals today transcend photographing our feather friends and work wonders for other popular genres—especially when a subject is in motion.

Our job as photographers, according to Wegener, "is to help the camera's autofocus system as much as possible. If we do, we're rewarded with great results." In other words, you won't need a magic button if you dial in the appropriate camera settings and employ the shooting techniques he explains in the next 14 minutes.

Wegener provides this quick teaser at the onset: "Did you know that tilting your camera on an angle can actually help you acquire focus in many situations?" If not, stay tuned. He imparts a variety of other simple-and-effective methods with which you may be unfamiliar.

A second technique that can be used in any scenario is to go from wide to tight. There are actually two important steps involved in this practice, and Wegener describes the concept like this: "The less our camera 's AF system has to search for a subject, the better our results will be." This trick involves pre-focusing on an area at a similar distance to where you expect a moving subject to appear.

Another important consideration, especially with shooting with long lenses, is that it can be difficult to locate a fast-moving subject within the viewfinder. These is where a zoom lens can be very helpful if you first pull back to a wide view to acquire your subject before zooming in tight to capture the shot at high magnification.

Wegener describes how to overcome other frustrating struggles by setting AF speed properly, and choosing the best focusing mode for the specific situation at hand. In this regard you'll learn why, when, and how Spot, Zone, or Wide mode will enable you to nail focus with precision.

Wegener's popular YouTube channel contains many more how-to videos like this one, so be sure to take a look when you have time to explore.

We also recommend watching our earlier tutorial featuring another expert outdoor shooter who demonstrates four methods for controlling "depth perception" to create landscape, wildlife, and nature photographs with maximum impact.