Create a camera focal point

Sometimes it may be difficult to position the camera just right to capture a scene the way you want. This tutorial shows you a simple way to force the camera to track an arbitrary object.

• Create a new Empty object and give it a name such as 'FocalPoint'.
• Select the camera and in the Object window (F7), add a new Track To Constraint.
• In the new dialog that appears, enter the name of your Empty into the Target field.
• In the Align section, select 'Y' as the Up and '-Z' as the to.
• Now your camera will track your Empty wherever you move it.

This tutorial uses an empty to track the camera to. Using an Empty can be extremely effective when you wish to create animated scenes. For simply scenes, however, it may be just as effective to use a rendered object in your scene. The Empty may still be an effective method, however, as it allows you to position the camera exactly where you want rather than to the center of the current object.