When you're trying to capture something in a photo, you want that subject to be in focus so the details are crisp. On a smartphone this is easy; you just tap whatever it is you're trying to shoot on the screen. For other cameras it can be a little more complicated, but typically speaking if your camera has a physical shutter button, you can fo-cus by holding the button halfway down. When the camera thinks it's locked in it'll usually sur-round the subject in a green box of some sort and give a cheerful beep indicating everything's good to go. Press the button the rest of the way and voila, you've got an in-focus photo.
While there are lots of advanced things you can do with selective focus, for starters just concen-trate on getting what you want in focus. With software these days you can fix nearly any prob-lem you may have with a shot, but you can't fix focus. That said, here are some simple things to keep in mind: With landscapes you usually want everything in focus, which the camera sometimes doesn't understand. Most cameras have a"land-scape"scene mode for just these occasions. Also, when capturing portraits of people or animals, it is best to focus on the eyes above all else. They're the windows to the soul, after all.