Practice. Practice with video or live view is best. If you can track someone/something in focus for seconds-minutes, you can probably grab it quickly for a single shot.
Use the distance markings on the barrel. Carry a tape measure and play the distance game when you’re not shooting(How far am I to this window, window to sink, etc. etc.).
You can also set focus to a certain distance for a frame you may want, and when walking about take your shots at that distance…used this method for street photography with a very troublesome old film camera.
Use a Depth of Field Calculator and understand the throw of your lens + depth with chosen aperture and sensor size. Typically, your throw is longer the closer to the sensor and much shorter for distances further away(1’-4’ might be quite a difficult focus movement if you’re framing up quickly on the street…10’-30’ is likely pretty small and fast).
Focus magnification is your best friend on a digital camera, ideally on a button you can easily press while looking at viewfinder/monitor. Peaking/focus magnification isn’t very reliable(false positives, etc.). Shooting in a view/monitor that displays black and white also anecdotally helps(the contrast increases ability to perceived sharpness, which color can distract from and make sharp edges less neat. I personally find it helpful).
Practice. Practice with video or live view is best. If you can track someone/something in focus for seconds-minutes, you can probably grab it quickly for a single shot.
Use the distance markings on the barrel. Carry a tape measure and play the distance game when you’re not shooting(How far am I to this window, window to sink, etc. etc.).
You can also set focus to a certain distance for a frame you may want, and when walking about take your shots at that distance…used this method for street photography with a very troublesome old film camera.
Use a Depth of Field Calculator and understand the throw of your lens + depth with chosen aperture and sensor size. Typically, your throw is longer the closer to the sensor and much shorter for distances further away(1’-4’ might be quite a difficult focus movement if you’re framing up quickly on the street…10’-30’ is likely pretty small and fast).
Focus magnification is your best friend on a digital camera, ideally on a button you can easily press while looking at viewfinder/monitor. Peaking/focus magnification isn’t very reliable(false positives, etc.). Shooting in a view/monitor that displays black and white also anecdotally helps(the contrast increases ability to perceived sharpness, which color can distract from and make sharp edges less neat. I personally find it helpful).