This was by accident "Deer"

[LLD]

We were driving down the road and I saw this deer .. stopped and took 2 photos. I know you're not suppose to center the animal but how do you calm your nerves and shoot the animal before it goes away. Guess that comes with experience and patience! Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Overread]

A hard shot to get for any camera - all those reeds and sticks in the way have clearly caught the AF - if you look its only just getting the deer in part of the depth of field instead of being focused upon it.

As for not centring the subject that is another hard skill; it is easier if you've a higher end camera with better performing outer AF points or if you've more time to compose the photo. Also don't forget that whilst you should always aim to perfect as much in camera as you can, cropping is still a very viable and simple tool to use.

 

[WesternGuy]

Sometimes, you just have to take what you can get. I always try for the "shot of record" so to speak and anything else, well it is often a bonus. As Overread said, cropping and processing afterwards is always a simple tool to use. This shot is not that bad, considering the circumstances.

WesternGuy

 

[Overread]

Just had another look at the fullsize and I think I might change my stance - I think the AF might well have got the deer - but something is "soft" around the eyes in my view (which is odd as the ears look okish). I wonder if its not something small and out of focus nearer which has caused a tiny bit of blurring or that the eyelashes and such are creating a soft view where its not. I've experience shooting moths who have very fuzzy eyes (lots of hairs sticking out) and it can be very difficult to "see" the sharpness at times with them (esp when focusing) because of the hairs.


Also one thought for auto focus is consider reading up about back button auto focus. This is where the AF is engaged by a button on the back of the DSLR instead of a half press of the shutter button. This gives you a lot of freedom - you can start and stop the AF whenever you want and take a photo without having to engage it or fiddle around finding the AF on/off button. I find it fantastic when combined with lenses that can do all the time manual focusing because you can shift from MF to AF just by pressing a button on the back - or you can use manual focusing without having to flick the switch - its great for a scene like this where AF might get confused.