Niki Boon

Niki Boon is a trained physiotherapist turned photographer and the mother of four children living in Marlborough, New Zealand. Her current project was born out of a desire to document her family’s days as they pursue an alternative lifestyle. Visit www.nikiboonphotos.com or nikiboonphoto on Instagram. My photography centres around my personal project documenting my children and our everyday life. Kids being kids they move around a lot, and this movement is often fast and erratic! As a result, focusing accurately can be a challenge. It can also be a struggle to know what to focus on when there are so many stories and subjects in the frame.

1 Head to the back It may not be to everyone’s taste, but I find back button focus to be very effective for moving subjects. It allows me to lock focus and then just wait for the right moment, or the right light to materialise, before releasing the shutter. Using back button focus means that if someone else suddenly moves into the frame I can prevent the camera from locking on to them.

2 Use a wide aperture I frequently use wide apertures (such as f/3.5 or f/5.6) for my work, as they allow me to keep my shutter speeds nice and high, freezing movement. I like to tell as many stories as possible in one frame, so this technique suits me perfectly.

3 Activate Live View I’ve only really started using Live View recently, but it has already been very useful for checking what’s in focus, and what isn’t. 4Take lots of pictures I’m sure that you’ve heard this advice many times before, but when you are dealing with fast-moving subjects, such as children, it really is essential to take plenty of pictures. One of the best things about digital photography, compared to traditional film, is that each frame is effectively free. I frequently find that extra unexpected elements/people pop into the frame, and some of these can make quite interesting additions to a picture. By shooting multiple images I stand a much better chance of capturing these impromptu moments. 5Know your focusing modes It’s important to know when to use AI Servo and when to use AI Focus on your camera. While it’s true that AI Focus will often deliver sharp results, when your subject is constantly moving it can be advantageous to switch to AI Servo.

6 Stay in the centre Where possible, I use the centre focusing point. This is the most sensitive focusing point in the array, and works brilliantly when combined with back button focusing. I often use this combination when faced with tricky lighting.

‘Kids being kids they move around a lot, and this action is often fast and erratic’

7 Pay for a prime Good quality lenses are pricey for a reason. I have never regretted the money I spent on a good quality 35mm prime lens – in fact I have been grateful for it over and over again. If you can’t afford expensive glass then avoid using your lens at its extreme aperture limits.

8 Look for contrast When light levels are low and the lens and camera are struggling to lock on to a subject, I try to look for contrasting subjects – areas where there is a distinct difference between light and dark. 9Experiment with shutter priority I occasionally use shutter priority for fast-moving subjects, or when the lighting is tricky. That way I don’t have to worry too much about obtaining the correct exposure because the camera will do some of the work for me. This allows me to concentrate on refining my composition. If I want to freeze action I use speeds around 1/320 or 1/500sec.

10 Try pre-focusing To increase my chances of a sharp result I often pre-focus – this involves aiming the lens at an area I know the subject will enter, rather than chasing movement with the camera. I pre-focus, and when I see the subject entering the frame and about to do something interesting, I release the shutter.