Today I want to talk about how to vlog without autofocus but still make your footage look AWESOME.

Now, there are a few different ways you can easily target your face or whatever it is that you want to focus on, but I want to give you only the best ones I tend to use.

Let´s start!

1. Take Advantage Of Light

First things first, if there´s anything that can dramatically improve (or negatively affect) the focus on your camera is light.

You can use the cheapest and most reliable source of light, the sun.

Now, what is actually the best way to capture perfect sunlight and also improving your focus while recording?

Controlling the aperture of your camera and using the best possible lighting set up.

Here´s how:

You want to record at dawn, when the light is not at is peak but you can still use it by adjusting your aperture just right to acquire that perfect depth of filed while keeping yourself on perfect focus.

That is actually what I do when I want to use sunlight in my shots, whether is by standing near a window or when I record outdoors.

If you are able to use exposure settings right on your camera you can keep your image as sharp as possible. Period.

2. Manually Master Your Focus

As I´ve said before, Aperture is pretty important, although there are two other factors that can make or break your camera´s focus, and those are ISO and shutter speed.

If you master those three settings (aperture, ISO, and shutter speed) you´ll be able to pretty much get focus footage on everything every time you want.

So, to manually master your focus you should pay close attention to those three basics and try out different number combinations.

Now, in order to get the best possible result, what it usually works is combining the right aperture with the ISO and shutter speed to the lighting settings you are in. That´s it.

For example, I tend to film in not so lighty enviroments where most of the light comes from outside (generally dawn light) but I still partially manage some of the lighting set ups.

That way I can use a large aperture (like f/2.8) to create depth of field, a kind of slow shutter speed (which I recommend you to try different variations of), and usually enable the “Auto ISO” so that the camera automatically guesses what the right ISO should be.

Last but not least, if you are unsure of what to do you can simply adjust your aperture to a small size (for example f/16.0) in a well lighten environment and get good focus on everything, including yourself.

3. Use WiFi Control Apps

Whether you use a Canon, Nikon, or almost any other brand you can always use your phone, laptop or tablet to monitor your settings and adjust accordingly to keep your image on point.

Now, how do you do that?

Simple! You can download an App on your phone/tablet or software for your laptop/computer and control the different features of your camera that way.

For example, I use a Canon camera and I have the Canon Camera Connect on my phone so I can easily use it both as a monitor as well as a way to keep myself focus and looking sharp at all times by changing the different settings whenever I need to.

Now, the advantages of this are pretty obvious, you can see yourself looking sharp while recording your videos and make sure you stay focused throughout the entire video.

If you are going to use your computer you can do what I did and download the EOS Utiliy software for Canon which has great capabilities and is fairly easy to use.

Whether you have a Canon, Nikon, or a Sony camera you can pretty much do the exact same things on every one of them, so don´t worry if you think of choosing one or the other as it is pretty much the same for each one.

However, when it comes to using your laptop for more control over your camera while shooting in front of it you´ll have to use a USB cable to plug it in. (make sure to buy an extension as the one that they usually come with is pretty short🤔)

You should look up for your particular model and see if it has WiFi control built in or not, THAT is your first step in order to use these features.

Third Parties Options

Although the official route tends to work well you can also do a quick Google search to see what other apps have been made for your particular camera.

Why?

Well, in my experience, you can find that some of these other apps/software give you even MORE control over your camera settings and don´t have some of the limitations that the offical App has.

That being said, if you want to simply adjust a few things before or after you shoot then the official version will be just fine.

4. Get Help From a Friend

Another great way you can film and make sure that you stay on focus is by asking a friend to stand in front of the camera for a little while until you adjust the proper settings and you get that sharp look you want.

Now, it´ll work better if your friend´s height is similar to yours, you don´t want to spend the time to focus on his face and then find that your video doesn´t look as sharp as it should be.

If your friend´s height doesn´t match yours then you can simply ask him/her to stand on a chair or bend their knees to get to your level.

You MUST get this right as it can be really frustrating to adjust over and over again the same settings.

You want to adjust aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, so take the time to do it right and don´t worry about lighting for now, unless it´s too dark, which can result in a “noisy” image.

If your ISO (which is a way to add digital light to the scene) is set too high, it will create that unwanted noise in your image, so if that´s the case, then you want to make sure to grab a few light lamps, film at a different hour of the day, or just simply choose a different room of your house.

5. Mark The Spot

Finally, once you´ve mastered your focus and you know exactly how to make your footage look sharp you want to create some sort of system to set it up correctly every time you want to use your camera.

One thing you can use (that I also do) is duct tape.

You want to mark the spot where your feet are as well as where your tripod legs are.

Once you´ve done that you can easily set the same camera mode manually and adjust the settings accordingly until you get the focus just right.

If you do that (and you record at the same time each and every day) you´ll get that even and consistent look that personalizes big YouTube channels.

Finally, I want to finish off with a last tip most people tend to overlook, and that is when trying to focus it is best to stand as far as possible from your background.

BONUS: Use HDMI To Monitor Yourself

In a way to congratulate you for reading this far I want to finish off with this bonus tip I´ve used in the past.

If for whatever reason you can´t use (or you do not have) the Wifi control or the USB cable you still can monitor yourself and how focus you look by connecting via HDMI to your Tv or Laptop.

You won´t be able to change the settings but you´ll get a better sense of how focused your image is while filming. Which is always super helpful!

It´s another great way to see what is going on and make the necessary adjustments from your camera whenver you need to.

Plus! In case you can´t or don´t want to use a Tv screen or laptop there are HDMI monitors you can buy and that you can easily attach to your camera.

Related Questions

How to keep the focus on a moving subject? There are several ways you can do this, being the first one to set the focus right and then maintain the same distance from the subject throughout the entire movement. Another great way is to keep a high aperture which will result in losing your depth of field effect but you´ll keep your subject focused, whether you move further away or not from your subject.

How to keep everything in focus on a DSLR? You can easily use the methods I´ve just described, or you can buy a focus remote, which is probably THE easiest way to focus on a camera. Now, that is if your camera has autofocus, but in case it doesn´t what you should do is use your phone or any other monitor to keep an eye on yourself when trying to focus your DSLR and manually adjust the settings.