That's how I do it, but the camera chooses what it wants to focus on. So I have to try again and again from different angles until it focuses on the right thing. Occasionally I can fool it by holding a blank sheet of paper behind the subject and thereby limiting it choices. But sometimes I just have to give up out of frustration or because the subject has moved.

There is a way to manually set the focus (like at two feet or five or whatever) but that usually can't be done quickly enough. I've tried playing with the aperture setting to increase the depth of field which sometimes helps.

I think the camera has capabilities that I just haven't yet explored. Most of my pics are taking during the course of the work day when I see something and grab the camera for a quick shot. I really need to set aside some time to practice with the camera more.

Another trick that I've used to force the right focus is to skyline the subject. That can result in an interesting shot that I might otherwise have missed.