need help wit h focusing
Sep 6, 2011 12:21:23 #
Would like some help with this - dont have the pics to upload with me but i took some pics of my family at a ball game and we were scattered over three or four rows - stood at the front of them and thought got a good shot but only one or two in focus. the lighting was pretty good and it is clear enough - but i had my fstop on 5 - could that be the problem and if so what should i set it at to get best results and everyone in focus
and is there a general rule of thumb for getting shots right when people are of different levels and distances - i have the canon 7D and also not sure what focus setting is best - there are four and is one better for group shots than another? thank you!
and is there a general rule of thumb for getting shots right when people are of different levels and distances - i have the canon 7D and also not sure what focus setting is best - there are four and is one better for group shots than another? thank you!
Sep 6, 2011 12:46:49 #
Russ
Loc: Nashville, Tn.
Sounds like your focus was was off. Fstop controls the amount of light that enters the camera, not necessarily focus. I don't own a Canon so I can't coment on that. However, you should be able to preview your picture in your eyepeace, or on your LCD. When every thing looks right in the viewfinder, take the picture.
Sep 6, 2011 12:49:27 #
It looked right to me - but when I got it home and looked at it - it was evident that only the people in front were focused and not those behind the first row. I dont feel my pictures are crips and sharp but dont know if it is me or the camera. have read the manual and even 7d for dummies, and aparently i am really dumb - because i still have focus issues, and dont know why i cant get a crips sharp photo!!
Sep 6, 2011 14:09:58 #
pandoany115
Loc: Los Altos, CA
debbiesweds wrote:
It looked right to me - but when I got it home and looked at it - it was evident that only the people in front were focused and not those behind the first row. I dont feel my pictures are crips and sharp but dont know if it is me or the camera. have read the manual and even 7d for dummies, and aparently i am really dumb - because i still have focus issues, and dont know why i cant get a crips sharp photo!!
Maybe, in such case, you could have used Hyperfocal Focussing?
Sep 6, 2011 14:11:14 #
Sep 6, 2011 14:12:22 #
but would the wide aperature cause it to be out of focus, as in a small depth of field and it is only focusing on things nearby?
Sep 6, 2011 14:34:16 #
Russ wrote:
Sounds like your focus was was off. Fstop controls the amount of light that enters the camera, not necessarily focus.
Not quite - the aperture, or f/stop has a huge bearing on the depth of field (of focus). A large f/stop corresponds to a very narrow depth of field, and vice versa. It's entirely possible that the OP's f/5 was too high, and he would have been better with something like f/11 or f16 - this would have given him more DEPTH of area in focus.
As DebbieWeds has noted, a large aperture can very easily make things get out of focus as they are farther from the center of focus itself.
Sep 6, 2011 14:39:10 #
Hyperfocal focusing is a technique usually used in landscape photography, where you want a close up object in focus, as well as those mountains 30 miles away. It involves a couple of different steps, most of which are camera/lens dependent but the basic idea is that you (manually) focus the lens on something about 1/3rd of the way out into the subject, and then recompose to show your desired foreground and background WITHOUT re-focussing, and take your shot.
Most hyperfocal shots are just inside of the 'infinity' focus mark on your lens, if you have one.
It's not really useful if everything's within 20 feet.
Deb, until you get really familiar with your camera, I'd suggest staying in "auto" mode. This will ensure that you use ALL the focus points, and that your camera's computer will select the best aperture and shutter speed for the scene. With a 'front-to-back' focus area of 10 or 12 feet, it's entirely possible that your f/5 was too narrow.
Most hyperfocal shots are just inside of the 'infinity' focus mark on your lens, if you have one.
It's not really useful if everything's within 20 feet.
Deb, until you get really familiar with your camera, I'd suggest staying in "auto" mode. This will ensure that you use ALL the focus points, and that your camera's computer will select the best aperture and shutter speed for the scene. With a 'front-to-back' focus area of 10 or 12 feet, it's entirely possible that your f/5 was too narrow.
Sep 6, 2011 14:39:31 #
I used F5 and do you think if possibly F12 or somewhere in there would be better in that type scenario - where there are three rows of people all on different levels- OP - does that mean operator? sorry, I am a long time photographer but only newly learning the lingo. i used to be an auto photographer and am trying to cross over to the other side - it is hard!!
Sep 6, 2011 14:41:56 #
that is something interesting i will have to experiment with - but no, i am talking about a group of people (has happened to me often) within 6 to 15 feet and they are all scattered - say some 6 feet from me some 7 and some down low and some up high - so that they are not all lined up - and also i have had this trouble in the instance i want to take a picture of three people and all three are not side by side and then only one of them ends up in focus- usually the one closest to me.
Sep 6, 2011 14:43:25 #
Sorry Deb - "OP" means, in this case "Original Poster", and I didn't realize that YOU were the OP... :)
Sep 6, 2011 14:45:29 #
Sep 6, 2011 14:45:46 #
debbiesweds wrote:
... usually the one closest to me....
Aha! I bet somehow your camera is set to the wrong focus point, and it's grabbing the NEAREST object alone. Make sure your little focus point thingy on the LCD does not have one of the little lower boxes highlighted. They should ALL be highlighted, and the LCD should read "AUTOMATIC SELECTION".
Sep 6, 2011 14:48:06 #
yeah, i guess i am not ready to be out of auto - but i want to learn and have been reading and studying everything i can get my hands on and still i am having lots of problems - thanks for your help!
Sep 6, 2011 14:50:04 #
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