 Jennifer Spainhour |
How to gain better focus of multiple subjects Everytime I ask an expert, each person adjusts my settings in the menu, but it never seems to solve the problem. I have even resorted to "Auto" mode on my dial to try to let the camera figure it out for me, but that is no better. Please help!!! See photo examples attached.
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anonymous |
You will always end up with a "softer" photo when you use a larger aperture (f3.5 etc), also depending on what your camera is focusing on. You might have different focusing points turned on that you don't want, and this causes the camera to automatically focus on anything that is closer to you, which could be the parents arm. If you want to ensure your camera is focusing on exactly what you want it to focus on, turn all but ONE of your focusing points off (usually keep the middle one). Then learn to focus by pushing your button half way down, when you are focused (don't release the button), then recompose and finish pushing the shutter all the way down for the photo. This will ensure whatever it is you want in focus (and with people it is EYES) that they are in focus even if they are not in the middle of the shot. Don't forget though, the smaller the aperture (larger f number ie f16 etc) the more acceptably sharper the image will be before and after the focused plane).
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Jon Close |
There can only be a single plane of focus. It is not possible to focus the lens on more than one subject, unless they are both at exactly the same distance. To get more than a single subject in focus, focus on one (or between them) and select an aperture that gives enough depth of field so that all subjects are in acceptible focus. Smaller aperture (larger f-numbers) give greater depth of field. Use the depth of field scale on the lens (if so featured), or the camera's depth of field preview, or consult a separate depth of field scale (example - http://www.dofmaster.com/).
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Jennifer Spainhour |
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my question. It helps to hear different perspectives. Natalie, I was looking through your gallery (very nice!) and noticed you have many photos of more than one subject/person. In each case, both people are perfectly focused. Is this optimized by having people close together so that the camera is focusing well in the middle of them? If you had two people who were not close together, is the best way to keep them both in focus going to be with lots of light that enables a smaller aperture/larger f-stop? What if you are indoors? Is lighting the key? Thanks again for your thoughts. Jennifer
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anonymous A. |
Depth of field (the range of an image that is acceptably sharp) at any distance is determined by a combination of focal length and aperture. Wide angle lenses and small apertures (f32, f22) give the greatest apparent DOF. However, the closer the subject is to the focal plane of the camera, the shallower the depth of field becomes. The final piece the puzzle is that the depth of field extends further beyond the true point of focus than it does in front of it... that means, in practice, if you want 2 objects to appear sharp, you should focus at a point past the nearest object 1/3 of the distance to the farthest, using the smalles aperture (largest f number)available at the shortest focal length suitable to fill the frame.
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