CAMERA FOCUS POINT
Having a sharply focused image is crucial to the success of a photograph. When shooting kids, animals or underwater, use the centered focus point on your SLR. SLRs have multiple, selectable "Focus Points" as a standard feature. Most allow you to let the camera decide what you had in mind or allow you to select the correct point. There may be 5 or more points visible in the viewfinder to choose from depending the camera. The are usually shown by a pattern of little squares in the viewfinder. Pressing the shutter button halfway down will usually show the selected point and you may hear a beep if the point is determined to be "sharp." You and your camera manual will need to be good friends to be sure you know how to select the correct one. Practice using the feature. You will lose fluency on this if you don't shoot at least every two weeks.
Point and shoot cameras probably won't have this feature. Using the center point allows you get the animal in focus. Alternatively, you may need to adjust the focus point to be situated directly on one of the animal’s eyes to get the best perceived sharpness. Letting the camera decide the focus point will not give you optimum results as the camera may keep searching for what should be in focus or determine the wrong point. Most digital cameras these days function as programmed computers, not photographers with a thinking brain.
