Thursday, February 4, 2016

Focus Pulling Tips

Watch today's video:

There aren't many people who can pull focus quickly without overshooting or undershooting their target focus.
It's a common misconception to think that pulling focus and racking focus are the same thing. Pulling focus is gradually moving the focus to keep it locked on an object as that object or the camera moves, whereas racking focus is moving the focus from one object to another.
Tip #1: Spend a few minutes every day "practicing" focus pulling by walking around and pulling focus between random objects. Over time you'll become faster and more accurate (the same technique can be used to improve your zooming in/out or adjusting exposure.
Tip #2: Increase your camera's aperture. Technically, this decreases the amount of light being let into the lens*
Tip #3: Use a follow focus (a device that makes focus pulling smoother and more accurate.) You can buy one (about $70-200) or click one of the links below:
Frugal Follow Focus
Knoptop DSLR Homemade Focus Assist
Film Riot $5 Follow Focus
BONUS TIP: Don't rack focus without reason. A random transition from one object to another is awkward and doesn't often make sense.



*when buying a lens, make sure to note the aperture. It will be listed as f/value. A higher number will have a shallower depth of field and a darker image; a lower number will have a shallower depth of field and a brighter image

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