Back button focus - how one tiny button will change the way you shoot forever

By Mark Rayner | 20 August 2020

There is one feature on your camera that you may have just brushed over in the past or ignored altogether that holds the key to improving your in-focus hit rate enormously: back button focus.

This one tiny button will change the way you shoot forever.

Traditionally, you hold down your shutter button halfway and then, when the moment is right, depress the shutter button the rest of the way to take your shot. But what if you want to focus, hold focus and re-compose, and then take the shot. No problem. Just make sure you are on one-shot or single-shot focus, hold the shutter halfway, recompose and shoot.

Fine, except now the exposure is not right because the area the camera metered from is different to where you original focused (mainly a problem with spot metering for portraits or wildlife). So you redo the shot and hold down the AE-L button on a Nikon or the “*” button on a Canon to lock the exposure or use exposure compensation. Hmm, it's starting to get complicated.

Let's simplify everything. How about one button to focus and another to lock exposure and activate the shutter? Now you could press a button to focus and if you needed to recompose, by simply half depressing the shutter button, and then recomposing and shooting, your exposure would be correct based on the reading taken from your subject before you recomposed. Easy.

But it gets even better. How about never having to change your focus mode from one-shot or single-shot to AI-Servo, Continuous A/F or whatever. Just use one setting that works for everything.

Shooting from a bird hide can be restrictive but it also gives you time (if you stay quiet) to look at angles and backgrounds. Here, I was able to position myself to minimise distracting highlights through the trees in the background and compose with plenty of space in the direction the bird is facing. Keeping the background as dark as possible pushes all your attention to the Major Mitchell’s cockatoo. Nikon Z 7, 400mm f/2.8 lens. 1/800s @ f2.8, ISO 250. -0.67EV.

Setting it up

In your camera's menu find the section where you can allocate different functions to different buttons.

Set your back-focus button to enabled or on.

Set your shutter button to activate exposure lock. Make sure your shutter button does not activate focus. It would take another couple of pages to go through the menu settings for each camera, so you'll just have to work through it.

In the end, you should have a back button that activates focus and a shutter button that activates and locks metering and takes the shot. Just a quick note here to advise that some of the entry level Canon cameras don't have an AF button on the back. All is not lost as you can allocate the “*” button to carry out this function.

Having set up your buttons, change your focus mode to Continuous or AI-Servo and leave it there. Forever.

So here is what happens now.

The back button focuses when you are depressing it. If you take your thumb off the button, focus stops, effectively locking focus. The shutter button activates metering and locks it when half depressed and then activates the shutter when fully depressed.

In the field

Let's look at two common scenarios: a stationary subject and a moving subject.

The Nature Theatre at Alice Springs Desert Park is a fantastic place to practice your bird-in-flight techniques. This Australian hobby bird is incredibly fast but if you can capture him just after he turns and begins his attack run, his speed is more manageable. Nikon Z 7, 300mm f/4 lens. 1/8000s @ f4, ISO 800.

First, the moving subject. As long as you hold your new focusing back button pressed, your camera will continue to focus, changing constantly as the distance to your subject changes. So provided you have your focus point lined up on your moving subject, as you track along with your subject you will continually maintain correct and accurate focus.

Remember your camera is now set to Continuous Focus or AI-Servo, exactly the same as you would have used in the past for a moving subject.

Now though, you don't have to shoot off a heap of unwanted shots by keeping your shutter button depressed to maintain focus. Just keep your thumb pressed on your back button and fire off the shutter whenever you want. Perfect.

If you want quick burst, then fire off a quick burst. Want one shot? Simply press the shutter once. The focus remains independent and your subject will remain sharp and in focus as long as you keep your back focus button pressed.

The Hunter Wetlands is home to many birds, including one of my favourites, the variegated fairy-wren. This one was good enough to land on a reed well away from the cluster for a few moments allowing for good separation from the background. Nikon Z 7, 500mm f/5.6 lens. 1/250s @ f5.6, ISO 400, +1 EV.

OK, a non-moving subject. Standard shot first, no recomposing necessary. Leave your camera on Continuous A/F or AI Servo. Line up your focus point, press your back focus button and, when you're ready to take the shot, press the shutter button. Too easy.

Now, the recompose method. Again, leave your camera on Continuous A/F or AI Servo. Line up your focus point, press your back focus button and, when focus is achieved, take your thumb off the back focus button. Your focus now won't change. Unless you press the back focus button again your focus is effectively locked.

Now, half press the shutter button and hold it half-depressed. Recompose and press the shutter button the rest of the way. The result is a correctly focused, correctly exposed shot.

About the author: Mark Rayner has been a photographer for more than 40 years, and runs successful photography tour company Trekabout. See more at trekaboutphotography.com