One of the most fundamental skills any photographer needs to have is the ability to get their images in focus consistently, even in difficult scenarios. Modern cameras offer some highly advanced autofocus systems that have made this job a lot easier, but in certain situations, this simple technique can outperform even the best autofocus system.
Coming to you from Omar Gonzalez Photography, this awesome video tutorial will show you the power of pre-focusing your images. Pre-focusing an image means that instead of focusing on the subject, you set the focus to where you think the subject will be and wait for the subject to hit that point. The advantage of this is that you can get the frame exactly how you want it and wait for your subject to complete it without trying to hurriedly grab focus. As such, this is most useful when you can reliably predict where (and when) the subject will travel through the frame. For example, when I photograph horse jumping, rather than following the horses around the course, I simply pre-focus on the jump I want to capture and wait for the horses to jump it. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Gonzalez.
I use the zone focusing technique when I’m out doing street photography. For me it’s preferable to using autofocus. Knowing the zone of focus means I know how much depth I’ve got to place the subject in. With the manual lens I have, Voigtlander E mount with depth of field markings, it takes the guesswork away from having to pre-focus an autofocus lens and not knowing the exact zone of focus.