Focus point question...

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Hutchinson on December 25, 2011 at 3:00pm

It's hard to say exactly what focusing point to use if you are referring to the focusing points in the viewfinder since these focusing points will depend on where you position the subject in the viewfinder. But the key rule when focusing for a portrait is to focus on the eyes. 
If you are dealing with a group this will depend on how large is the group. If it is say, three to four people, the thing to remember is to basically focus on the heads. If all the heads are in the same plane of focus (for example, lined up side by side) then just aim for someone's eyes. If they are lined up one behind the other then focus on the "middle" head and make sure the aperture is set so that all subjects will be in focus. 
If you are dealing with a large group then the simplest thing to do in my humble opinion is to turn on all the focusing points and let the camera choose the point to use and you just need to make sure that your aperture is set so that everyone will be in focus. 
Bear in mind that these are very basic examples but will hopefully give you an idea of what you need to do

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Permalink Reply by Cesar Perez on December 25, 2011 at 4:30pm

Ahh I got you, i sort of thought the same thing you described, is just that I have a bunch of images with group shots and others of single subjects and wasnt sure if i was using the right focusing point. I use the single point most of the time and also the point expansion, but I was shooting my wife and 1 1/2 year old son using the single focus point and notice that my wifes face was more clear and in focus then my son. Your welcome to reply to back to this.

 

Thanks for the reply and time.

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Permalink Reply by James Elliott on December 25, 2011 at 6:35pm

Single portraits.... Focus on the eyes

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Permalink Reply by Fred on December 26, 2011 at 5:48am

Cesar

I think what you are asking is why is one face in focus and the other out of focus.

Distance in focus is very narrow at f/2.8 when compared against f/22.

Go to this site http://www.dofmaster.com/ and check what is in focus with the lens that you used.

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Hutchinson on December 26, 2011 at 9:34am

Just to follow up on what Fred said, it's appears that your depth of field was too narrow which means that you should make your aperture smaller, meaning (as Fred mentioned) the aperture number would need to be larger by at least one more stop. Using the tool at the above link should give you a good idea of the aperture you would require. Its a great tool!

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Permalink Reply by Cesar Perez on December 26, 2011 at 7:49pm

Thank you guys for all your help... Things are looking up.

 

Anthony thank you for taking the time once again.

Cesar.

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Permalink Reply by Cesar Perez on December 26, 2011 at 7:47pm

Thank you Fred for replying, all this makes perfect sense. I will try it as suggested.

Thanks  again.

 

Cesar

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