In the world of photography, sharp focus can make or break an image. Whether you’re using a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, achieving the perfect focus can sometimes be challenging, especially with manual lenses. That’s where focus peaking comes into play. This handy tool is a game changer for photographers who want to take full control over their focusing process and ensure their shots are as sharp as possible.
What is Focus Peaking?
Focus peaking is a focusing aid that highlights the areas of your image that are in sharp focus by overlaying a false-color outline or highlight onto them in your viewfinder or on your camera’s screen. The idea is simple: when you turn the focus ring on your lens, the areas that are most in focus will be highlighted, making it easy to see exactly where your focus is landing.
Focus peaking is particularly useful when using manual focus, as it helps eliminate the guesswork. Without it, you might have to rely on squinting into your viewfinder, making micro-adjustments, and hoping for the best. With focus peaking, the camera does the hard work of identifying the sharpest areas for you, giving you more confidence that your shot will be in focus.
Initially developed for videographers, focus peaking is now available on most modern mirrorless cameras and some DSLRs. If you have a mirrorless camera, chances are it already has this feature built in. On some DSLR cameras, it’s referred to as “Focus Assist” or a similar term, especially in Live View mode.
How Focus Peaking Works
The way focus peaking works is both simple and brilliant. When you adjust the focus on your lens, the camera’s software analyzes the image in real-time to detect areas with the highest contrast. These areas are typically the sharpest parts of the image, and the camera overlays a bright color—often red, yellow, or white—onto those areas.
This color overlay is what you see as focus peaking. It gives you a visual cue, showing you exactly which parts of your image are in focus. As you continue to adjust the focus ring, the highlighted areas will shift, allowing you to pinpoint the exact focus point you want. The camera’s focus peaking algorithm is what makes all of this possible, and you can often customize it to suit your shooting conditions.
Most cameras allow you to change the color of the overlay to ensure it stands out against your subject. You can also adjust the sensitivity, which controls how much of the image gets highlighted. For example, in a scene with lots of fine details, you might want a lower sensitivity to avoid too many areas being highlighted. Conversely, in a scene where only a small part of the image is in focus, a higher sensitivity setting might be more useful.
Why You Should Use Focus Peaking
Focus peaking can be incredibly useful in a variety of shooting scenarios. For photographers who enjoy working with manual lenses, it’s practically a necessity. Manual focusing without any assistance can be tricky, especially when working with fast-moving subjects, low-light environments, or wide apertures where the depth of field is very shallow. In these situations, it can be challenging to determine what exactly is in focus just by looking through the viewfinder.
With focus peaking, you get a clear, immediate indication of which areas are sharp, which speeds up your workflow and reduces the chances of coming away with soft images. For landscape photographers, it’s a great tool for ensuring the critical areas of your scene are in sharp focus, whether that’s the distant mountains or the closer foreground elements. Portrait photographers can use it to ensure the eyes are sharp—an essential part of a great portrait.
Another advantage of focus peaking is that it works with older, manual-focus lenses. If you’re a fan of vintage glass, you can adapt these lenses to your modern camera and use focus peaking to achieve sharp results. This opens up a world of creative possibilities that might otherwise be daunting without this focusing aid.
When Focus Peaking is Most Useful
Focus peaking really shines in certain scenarios. If you’re shooting in low light, for instance, where autofocus systems can struggle, focus peaking can help you manually nail the focus. Since the overlay highlights areas of high contrast, you can quickly identify what’s in focus, even if the scene is dimly lit.
It’s also a lifesaver when working with shallow depth of field. If you’re shooting wide open at f/1.4 or f/1.8, the plane of focus is so thin that even a slight misjudgment can result in an out-of-focus image. Focus peaking helps you see exactly where that razor-thin focus plane is, allowing you to make precise adjustments.
Focus peaking is also helpful for macro photography, where the depth of field is extremely shallow. When photographing small subjects up close, getting the focus just right is crucial. With focus peaking, you can easily see which tiny details are sharp, ensuring that the critical parts of your subject are in focus.
However, there are times when focus peaking isn’t ideal. If your depth of field is incredibly shallow—say, you’re shooting at f/1.2 on a full-frame camera—the highlighted areas might be too narrow, making it difficult to judge whether your subject is truly in focus. In these cases, using focus peaking in combination with other focusing aids, such as magnifying the viewfinder image, can help ensure accuracy.
How to Set Up and Use Focus Peaking
Setting up focus peaking on your camera is usually straightforward. First, you’ll need to switch your lens to manual focus. Most autofocus lenses have a switch on the lens barrel labeled AF/MF. Once in manual focus mode, you can enable focus peaking through your camera’s menu system. The exact steps will vary depending on your camera brand and model, but look for options under the focusing or display settings.
After enabling focus peaking, you can typically customize the color and sensitivity of the peaking overlay. Choose a color that contrasts well with your subject. For example, if you’re shooting in a green forest, red or yellow peaking might stand out better than blue. Adjust the sensitivity based on your shooting conditions—lower sensitivity for detailed scenes and higher sensitivity for simple compositions with fewer focus points.
Once everything is set up, using focus peaking is easy. As you adjust the focus ring on your lens, you’ll see the colored highlights move across the screen, indicating the areas in focus. Simply stop turning the ring when the highlights are on the part of the image you want to be sharp, and you’re ready to take the shot.
Using Focus Peaking in Different Photography Genres
Different photography genres have their own unique challenges when it comes to focusing. Focus peaking can help in many of these scenarios, though it might need to be adapted depending on the situation.
In landscape photography, focus peaking is great for ensuring that both the foreground and background elements are sharp. Since landscapes often involve shooting at narrow apertures like f/11 or f/16, a lower sensitivity setting is often best. This prevents the entire scene from being overlaid in color, which can make it difficult to distinguish which areas are truly in focus.
For portrait photography, focus peaking helps ensure that your subject’s eyes are sharp, which is often the most important part of a portrait. With wide apertures common in portrait work, such as f/2.8 or wider, you’ll want to use a higher sensitivity setting. This allows you to see exactly where the shallow depth of field is landing, ensuring that the eyes are perfectly focused.
Macro photography is another area where focus peaking excels. When shooting close-ups, even a small shift in focus can dramatically change what’s sharp in the image. A high sensitivity setting is usually best, as it allows you to pinpoint the exact focus plane on a tiny subject. Just be aware that focus peaking might struggle with extremely shallow depths of field, so use it in combination with magnification for the best results.
In street photography, where you might be working quickly to capture fleeting moments, focus peaking can be a valuable tool. When shooting with manual lenses, it helps you rapidly confirm focus, even in chaotic environments. However, since street photography often involves moving subjects, you’ll need to be quick on the draw. Focus peaking helps, but it’s not a replacement for experience and quick reflexes.
Product photography benefits from focus peaking as well, especially when working with detailed items where every part needs to be sharp. Whether you’re photographing a small gadget or a large piece of furniture, focus peaking helps ensure that your focus is spot-on. With static subjects, you can take your time adjusting the focus, knowing that focus peaking will give you a clear indication of what’s sharp.
Getting the Most Out of Focus Peaking
To get the most out of focus peaking, it’s essential to practice and experiment with different settings. Try using different colors and sensitivity levels in various environments to see what works best for you. Remember that while focus peaking is a powerful tool, it’s not infallible. Sometimes the highlighted areas might not be perfectly sharp, especially in complex scenes with lots of textures or when shooting with very shallow depth of field.
In these cases, combining focus peaking with other techniques, like zooming in on the Live View screen to check focus, can help ensure your shots are as sharp as possible. With practice, you’ll get a feel for how focus peaking behaves in different scenarios and learn how to adjust your settings for optimal results.
Focus peaking is one of those features that, once you start using it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. Whether you’re shooting landscapes, portraits, macros, or anything in between, it’s a tool that can make manual focusing faster, easier, and more accurate.