Advice needed on taking pictures...

[msbrad]

thru a fence.
Sometimes, all I get is fence, and sometimes I can get the subject that is behind the fence. I've tried all kinds of settings, and I am not consistent.

Camera: canon XTI
thanks,
m

[jo]

That's why I bought a DSLR. It was driving me crazy that I couldn't focus on something when there was a foreground that the camera focussed on. You can switch to manual focus and get what's behind the fence.

[athegn]

Firstly safety. It depends on what is behind the fence. If it is a dangerous animal do not be tempted to get too close and certainly do not press the camera against the fence; some animals can reach through the fence and grab you or your camera. By pressing against the fence you could also distress the animal!

Next I assume that you are getting the wire mesh fence in your picture. This cannot be avoided but can be made less noticeable by throwing the fence out of focus. To do this you must use an large aperture and/or a long focal length lens.

Aperture see this thread:-

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Exposure/Aperture_01.htm

Focal length see this thread:-

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Optical/Focal_Length_01.htm

Your XTI allows you to choose AV mode so set your aperture at or near the maximum for your lens . Also set the focal length towards the or at longest focal length of your lens. Try to get as near to the fence, again be very conscious of safety. You may need to manually focus if your camera's autofocus locks onto the wire.

[msbrad]

Yes, I am staying "safe" where animals are concerned. I'm such a chicken anyway. Heading to a farm tomorrow for more animal practice.
I'm off to read the links. Thank you very much.
m

[lowbone]

I'm not totally sure what your problem is. If you are trying to shoot through a fence, like a chain link fence, put the lens hood as close to the the fence as possible. If you use the longest telephoto you have there is a chance that it wont see the fence. In other words the chain links are so far away from the minimum focusing distance of the lens that they won't register in the photo.
If on the other hand your camera is focusing on an object in front of or behind what you want to shoot then you have to take some steps to overide thiis. First of all make sure that one of your focus points is directly on the subject. These are the little points that usually light up in the viewfinder when your camera attains focus. You can use these points individually or collectively. In this case you want to use an individual focus point. Look in the manual to find out how this is done. The other option was stated in an earlier post. Swich the lens to Manual focus and focus that way. Auto Focus looks for the object with the most contrast and it will lock onto that.