Most amateur photographers are in a hurry when taking photos. At a gathering, picnic, concert or just taking photos in general, most users just press the shutter button and hope for the best. One specific feature built into all cameras that most take for granted is the auto focus. Most people feel that just the press of the button to shoot the image is sufficient for the camera to focus and take that good photo. In many situations, this is not the case. Many point and shoot cameras lack the speed in making the proper adjustments in that micro second available during the press of the shutter button. Therefore, all camera makers provide the ability for the camera to auto focus by pressing the shutter button half way for 3 – 5 seconds before pressing the shutter button all the way to snap the photo.

By taking the added few seconds to only press the shutter button half way before pressing the button all the way will make the world of difference on if your photo will be in sharp focus or not. If the main subject in the photo is not in focus but something else is then this involves another topic that is more complex and will be discussed in a future posting.