A lot of people have a love/hate relationship with digital cameras, love the instant gratification of being able to see the photos on the LCD, hate the lag between the time they press down the shutter release button and when the camera actually takes the picture.
You can miss a lot in that fraction of a second, especially if you’re taking a picture of something moving fast, like a dolphin jumping out of the water. With two quick tips, you can learn to get rid of that lag.
Tip 1
Press the shutter release halfway down. This will make the camera focus and take a light reading. Now, it’s ready to take the picture right when you push the shutter release all the way down.
Tip 2
You’re probably planning to take a picture of something that isn’t there (like that dolphin that’s under the water when you focus where it’s going to be jumping), so focus on something that’s in the same place. I usually choose the ground where I know they’re going to be (or the water) and then move the camera up (still holding down the shutter release half way).
Tip 2.5
To be able to focus exactly where you want, you need to set the auto focus to focus only in the little square in the middle. Recent cameras are ’smart,’ they try to guess what you want in the frame in focus. You’ll have to read through your manual so you can set the focus to the center square.
Here are a few photos we took at Sea World (one by my daughter, who’s 9 years old, so pretty much anyone can use this technique):
