Sometimes I get these awesome questions in the comments, and I always think “I should write a post about that!” and then sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. I thought I’d make a better attempt to answer them in full, so *WALLY!* Now Reader Q&A posts on the blog have been born! If you have a question you’d like me to address sometime, all you have to do it ask it. Remember though, I’m definitely not a pro and I don’t know it all. This is just information that I’ve learned so far, if you’re farther along in your photography journey I’d love to hear your input!
First up, in response to this post about how sometimes you have to take some bloopers before you get the shot you really want, I got this great question from Two Pitties in the City where they asked:
Their comment is really two questions which boil down to:
(1) What focusing method do you use when taking photos?
(2) How do you focus on dogs that are all black or all white?
Both are GREAT questions. Really really awesome, because these are problems that a lot of people have and there are certain tricks you can learn to make these things easier to deal with. I’ll tackle them one at a time:
(1) What focusing method do you use when taking photos?
First, I use single point auto-focus, where I control which spot is in focus (in other words, the camera doesn’t decide what should be in focus, I do). With this in mind, there are two popular methods of focusing.
The first is called “focus and recompose.” This is when you enable one focus point on your camera, usually the center focus point (because it tends to grab focus more easily than outer focus points – there are technical reasons for that that I won’t get into, but trust me that it’s true), set your focus point by pressing the shutter button halfway, and then you move the camera to create your desired composition before you click the shutter. If it sounds tricky, it’s actually pretty simple. There are two clear benefits to this method: (1) you don’t have to toggle between different focal points, so some people think it’s faster, and (2) by using the center point you’re utilizing the strongest of your focal points, so you might grab focus more easily. The downside is that if you are using a shallow depth of field (aka if your aperture is a low number, especially around f/1.4 – f/2.0), even the slightest movement can knock your focus out of whack. If you or your subject move forward or backward even the smallest amount, your shot might ultimately be out of focus.
Here is a good You Tube video that illustrates the focus and recompose method (if you’re reading this post in a reader or via email you might need to click over to view it):
The second method is Toggling. This is when you actually toggle between the different focus points to focus on the area you want for the shot. Hopefully that’s self-explanatory. 
The benefit to this is that you’re less likely to lose focus due to you or the subject moving around (which can happen with focus and recompose). The downside is that if you aren’t used to it, toggling might take a little longer, and you’re often relying on those not-quite-as-strong outer focus points on your camera.
Whew! So that’s a lot of info right? Don’t stress if it doesn’t make sense right away. Read it again and then pick up your camera to try out both methods. See how they’re different?
So finally, to answer the question: what do I do? Well, I do both. With my own dogs – who listen to me reasonably well – I take the time to toggle and set my focus point where I want it. Even when I’m shooting other people’s dogs (or rescue dogs) I tend to toggle. Usually I use a focus point that helps me achieve the rule of thirds more easily. Like of one of these circled in red:
And here is the same image with the rule of thirds grid over it. Remember, with the rule of thirds you want your subject to be at one of those points where the dashed lines intersect – see how nicely those focus points line up?
Here are some examples of how I shoot like this. Notice where my focus point is in relation to the rule of thirds.
The answer to when I focus and recompose instead goes along with question number 2…
How do you focus on dogs that are all black or all white?
Here’s the thing, your camera doesn’t actually know what it’s looking at. For all their sophisticated technology, cameras can be pretty stupid sometimes. When it’s searching for focus, your camera is actually looking for contrast. Try taking a photo of a white piece of paper (seriously, go do that). You can’t, right? Even though that piece of paper is sitting there very nicely on the table, not moving an inch, your camera just can’t do it. And that’s because it’s all the same color. Now try drawing a black dot on that same piece of white paper. It focuses right away doesn’t it? That’s because your camera finally found contrast to focus on.
So when you have a subject or scene that doesn’t have a lot of contrast (for example, there isn’t a lot of light or you’re shooting a black or white dog) your camera has a really tough time with it. This is when it’s nice to know which focus point is your strongest. Remember, it’s your center focus point (unless you have a seriously fancy pants camera that’s like $3k+…). In those low-light and low-contrast situations, I’ll probably want to focus and recompose. I’ll set my center focus point on what I want to have in focus (usually the dog’s eye that’s closest to me) by pressing the shutter button halfway, then recompose the photo so it has the composition I want, and then click the shutter the rest of the way. The nice thing about focusing on the eye (in addition to it making a nice photograph) is that the eye actually has contrast for the camera to grab focus on (I keep italicizing contrast because it’s so important!). The eye has the dark pupil, the iris, and the white around the eye. All very contrasty for your camera to grab focus.
To sum up the main takeaways here are:
- There are two popular focusing methods: focus & recompose and toggling
- The center focus point on your camera is the strongest
- Use specific focal points to help you easily create “rule of thirds” compositions
- When your camera is searching for focus, it’s looking for contrast
- When shooting black and white dogs, set the focus point on the eye. If the outer focus point doesn’t work, use the center focus point, and use the focus & recompose method
I hope that helped! If you have any questions about either focus and recomposing or toggling let me have ‘em. I’d also love to hear about what you do – do you focus and recompose or toggle? Or do you let the camera choose your focus points for you?
Or was this post way too technical and you just want to see dog photos? Never fear, those will be back 
