Canon T4i (Practice Phase)

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

When you look through the viewfinder, see those dots? Right now, they probably all light up red, I prefer "especially shooting coral" using the Center point.

 

Just wait until you get into metering modes lol...

[shaner014]

I have been picking my focus points, but probably not steady enough or placing them where I should. I'm still in the click happy while messing with the dials phase. I only have about a 5% keeper rate.

[TheWAND]

I have been picking my focus points, but probably not steady enough or placing them where I should. I'm still in the click happy while messing with the dials phase. I only have about a 5% keeper rate.

Protip: use single af, and once you get a lock on focus, recompose your shot. The center AF is the most accurate on Canon's entry level (and my 5D MK II). Even I only use my center AF, and recompose. Even for weddings, the center AF is the only one I deem accurate enough for daily use, at least on Canon's lower end AF systems, meaning 5d II (and lower) and rebel lines - normally the Canon xxD, excluding 60D, has a better AF system)*. If I'm not using one-shot AF, I remap my AF so that only the AF-on button will activate my autofocus (look in camera custom functions, pm me for more info). Whether shooting a wedding, engagement, or senior portraits, I only use center AF point with recomposing. If I recompose, I will give myself 5-10 of the same shots so that I have a higher rate of keepers for a single shot.

 

Another tip: if you are doing macros on a tripod, use the live-view, and manual focus the lens. On 10x magnification, your manual focus will be more accurate than the AF, especially after recomposing.

 

*5D II and 5D classic both have/had entry level AF systems, similar to the xxxD/Rebel SLRs. The 60D AF system was a noticeable downgrade from the 50D AF system, at least in my experience.

 

Edit: Even shooting in RAW, I use live view sometimes to set exposure and color balance. Not sure if you can do it on the xxxD series, but give it a shot anyways. There are two perks to this: 1) You get a WYSIWYG look on your photo, as far as exposure goes, and 2) Post processing RAW files that already have the correct color balance and exposure is much faster.

[shaner014]

That is awesome info! Thank you!

 

As far as using the center and recomposing... How do you get an off center subject correctly focused? Sorry for probably a simple question.

 

Also, I do have live view and I will look into the custom functions as you mentioned.