Artificial intelligence, eye tracking, pet mode, follow focus. Yes, there’s no shortage of «magical» autofocus aids for the modern photographer who needs to get images sharp in no time. When it comes to shooting street photography, I prefer to make it even easier and even faster. The solution is hyperfocal distance.

The camera shouldn’t get in the way of the images

In the 2000s I was a student working part-time in a photo lab. In addition to producing images, we sold cameras. Back then, megapixels were all the rage. Camera manufacturers did everything they could to hype how many megapixels their cameras had, and they outdid each other from model to model. Customers were very interested in getting as many megapixels as possible. Almost everything else about the camera was not that important, I realised.

Today, when I talk to people about their cameras, they have no idea how many megapixels their camera has. They don’t care because we’ve passed a certain point where all the image chips are very good, and they’re all exactly the same. What I notice from the people I talk to is that autofocus is very important now.

It’s about how fast it is, how accurate it is, and how many modes the camera has to be able to hit critical focus on that particular object – anything from a sofa to a pet, or a flower to a human. The number of focus points, clickable screens and so on are proudly displayed.

Of course, I find new technology exciting, but not as technology in itself. I want tools that make it faster for me to take photos that mean and are interesting to me (and others, of course). That’s why I don’t care about ISO. Almost all ISO values on my cameras produce excellent results.

For me, knowing that my camera is ready to capture the images I envision is more important than the technology in the camera itself. The camera is a tool, «an extension of my eyes» as Henri-Cartier Bresson put it.

That’s why I use the technique of hyperfocal distance.

Hyperfocal distance in practice

The technique is simple and quick. Hyperfocal distance is the distance from a lens at which all objects come into acceptable focus. That distance increases or decreases as you change the aperture. Aperture f/2 gives a smaller distance, while aperture f/16 gives a larger distance.

I switch off the autofocus on my camera. On the back of the screen of my Fuji X-T2 or X-Pro2 I get a scale showing the depth of field. I turn the lens focus ring until I get the blue towards infinity sign.

After that, I just use the aperture to decide how much hyperfocal distance I want. I’ve used my amazing drawing skills to illustrate it below:

Here I’ve set my lens, a Fuji 23mm f/2, to f/16. This gives me a hyperfocal distance where everything from around 0.85 metres to infinity is in acceptable focus. In other words, I don’t have to worry about what the camera’s autofocus is doing. As long as what I’m shooting is 0.85 metres from the lens, it’s sharp enough.

If I need a lower aperture, such as f/8, the hyperfocal distance changes. Again, my marvellous drawing skills will show what’s happening:

Now the hyperfocal distance has changed. Everything from 1.68 metres to infinity is now acceptably sharp.

The technology means that the camera is always ready to take a picture. All I have to do is lift my camera up to my eye, compose the image and press the shutter. I know that everything is sharp enough from near to far in my composition.

The downside of this technique

By stopping down the lens, less light reaches the sensor. This means that either the ISO or the shutter speed must match the aperture. In daylight, it’s rarely a problem for me to get a shutter that’s fast enough (1/500) to freeze motion. It can be a problem if I’m shooting in shadows or indoors. Often, it’s the ISO that’s lacking since it can’t go high enough to ensure that the shutter speed is 1/500.

That’s when I revert to autofocus. On my X-T2 and X-Pro2, it’s easy because there’s a switch close to the lens. I know what each step of the switch does so I can quickly switch to AF-S focus mode, or I use a button on the back of the camera that makes the lens focus.

Calculate the hyperfocal distance yourself

The vast majority of cameras today have some kind of display that allows you to find the hyperfocal distance. There are also many online calculators that do the job.
I like to use the Depth of field calculator from Photo Pills. It shows you how much distance there is based on different types of lenses and camera sensors.

Of course, this isn’t a criticism of someone who loves technology. I’m just telling you how I take photos in a way that works best for me. The idea is that I want to feel confident that the camera is working for me by being ready to take photos in a very short time. The technique is also best when I’m shooting street photography. If I’m taking other types of photos, such as portraits or more documentary photographs, I naturally use autofocus.

Photos taken with hyperfocal distance