If you're working by yourself, getting your camera focused to where you are going to be in front of it can be a challenge.
There are some tricks, such as using a remote to trigger the autofocus on the camera while you're standing in position, and then quickly locking it in by going to manual focus. But not everyone has a remote trigger.
Another way is to put something where you will be, focus on it, and then step into position.
Dave Knop, AKA Knoptop, has a couple suggestions in a Youtube video.
One is using a polystyrene mannequin display head, which you can pick up at a local wig shop or on Amazon. But if you either don't want to spend the money or have Jeff Bezos' algorithms making wild assumptions about you, Knoptop offers a cheaper solution that you most likely have laying around your house: A plastic, one-gallon jug.
Knoptop said they can easily be used as a head to either hold hats and wigs, or as a focus stand-in. He recommends using a milk jug (not those big. square-ish ones you get at Costco), after rinsing it out, of course. For me, I have distilled water jugs sitting around that don't need as much cleaning.
Knoptop said you can paint it, cover it with comic book art or whatever you want. I would recommend something that creates an easy focus pattern, maybe something like this modge-podged to the outside. To make it really utilitarian, you could also paint it a neutral gray tone so you can set color balance as well.
I think the best part of it is you can fit it on a light stand, especially if you are using a PVC lightstand.
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