Giving one's camera to another for a photo

[AlanKlein]

<p>Glad I could help. Alan.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>Some cameras have a closest-object-priority mode for autofocus. That will work unless you're standing far to the edge of the frame.</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>I set the camera to center point focus and tell the person to put the red dot directly on the face and don't move it. Then I crop for a better composition in post.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>That usually works, Nathan.</p>

[snapper_h]

<p>Great responses here lol. I keep a Sony T70 around for the family and friends. It does, ok, and if it's lost, dropped or stolen, I'm only out a $100 bucks or so. I had a friend going to the Beck thing in Dallas awhile back, I loaned the Sony to her. Her comment was "I wish I could could borrow you're Cannon". I chuckled and said "the learning curve was pretty steep on it". As I set the Sony to easy mode for her and showed her where the shutter button was. She got back and was thrilled at the shots.</p>

[luis_g]

<p>Living in a tourist-rich state and area, I am often asked to or volunteer to take pictures of others with their own cameras. I make 3+ exposures, then chimp to make sure there's a viable exposure. One time while visiting the Grand Canyon, I was asked by one biker and his wife/gf to take a picture, which I did. Suddenly, I was surrounded by nearly 100 bikers from a club on tour who laid down their cameras on a flat rock and posed themselves as I took pictures of the group with each camera. How they figured out which camera was who's I have no idea. I was traveling with my Mom and wife, who conducted smiles and made sure no one was occluded. At the end, the bikers insisted on loaning a leather jacket to and doing a group pose with my mother, who was then in her 90's. She later framed it and kept it as a memento of that day for the rest of her life.</p>

<p>I almost always carry a P&S with me, even when using my DSLRs. When someone offers to take my/our picture, I put it on coma mode and hand it over. </p>

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[Mark Keefer]

<p>Unless you pal around only with other photographers, put it in auto, center AF point, explain to the helpful person holding your camera to make the focus point dot light on you, then keeping the shutter button partially pressed, frame the shot and take a chance. It's a crap shoot. If the photo is really important to you, get a tripod and use the timer.</p>

<p>A few months back I handed my 7D to my mom, the camera set in auto and high speed burst mode. She aimed the camera and pressed down the shutter holding it in, she was startled and did her best to hang on. The camera was a bit much for her to handle, the rapid fire staccato and the camera in her hands seeming to recoil with each click of the shutter, it made me think of a world war II machine gunner trying to hit an attacking plane. The best shot had me some what centered and each successive shot aimed higher and higher ending with the ceiling and curtain rod centered and only my forehead and hair in the bottom left corner of the frame.</p>

<p>I chuckled viewing the sequence of shots in DPP as they downloaded from my camera. I was able to crop one shot that was OK. Handing the camera to just anyone hoping for a good shot is never a sure thing.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>I like "coma mode".</p>

[snapper_h]

<p>Lmao, Mark, that was so great. I'll be laughing all day thanks.</p>