Focusing issues

[canadianaustralian]

Hello there. Hoping someone who knows something is reading this message.

I am new to this site and pretty new to DSLR photography.

I have tons of questions, but will stick to one for now and see if I can get a little assistance.


I have been asked a couple times to do some newborn photography (yes...hard to believe they're asking a newbie!).

I am improving as a go from project to project (newborn and pregnancy photos).

When I've done my newborn photos, I have worked with the AUTOMATIC function as well as the creative modes (mostly just AV).

I want to focus on the entire baby sometimes, but find that the camera focuses only on what's closest (or whatever it thinks it should focus on), so I may get a clear eye and nose and the rest is a bit blurry (in pretty much any mode). I've even tried to set my focus points but that gets annoying too cuz you can only choose one spot of focus and I get a similar partially blurred/partially focused photo.

I see all these photos of newborns where they are in focus from head to toe....how can I achieve this??

Thanks in advance for any assistance

 

[astroNikon]

I'm kinda a newbie, but in Av you want your aperture to be about f/11 ish for proper Depth of Field
If, for instance you are using F/2.8 your depth of field, or how large of area is going to be in focus, will be small.
A larger f number is a larger area in focus. This will affect your Shutter speed in that it will be open longer.

Also check you focusing AF settings. I'm a Nikon user so I'm clueless how it is on a Canon. best to wait for the experts on that but you can set a large area for it to focus on.

I learned more about Depth of Field and the Av priority by taking an angled picture of a long fence and experimenting. At a f/1.8 you get a singular point of focus. At f/11 or greater you get much more of the long fence in focus.

 

[Murray Bloom]

Assuming there are no camera issues, try setting your aperture to f8 or f11, which will extend your depth of field. It will be extended about 1/3 forward and 2/3 rearward, which should, in most cases, bring the entire child into sharp- or near-focus. Make sure you understand how your focus zones are set.

 

[ShaneF]

First link i found but explains it just the same



Learn How To Use Your DSLR Camera With This Easy Photography Tutorial!

 

[canadianaustralian]

Thanks for that Astronikon. I do play with my aperture in the AV mode but was silly to assume that it wouldn't apply in automatic. Better to shoot in AV with a greater F# to achieve what I want I think Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[canadianaustralian]

Thanks Murray Bloom. I will definitely get more comfortable with my aperture. Maybe I can figure out if my camera is able to set a large focus area.

To all: I am doing a pregnancy photo shoot in a reserve (forested ar ea) and I'm worried about this focusing issue. I want to be sure the mom to be with her two kids and her husband will all be in focus. Suggesting on the best mode to use would be great for a forest with rays of sunshine trickling in (a really pretty place)...


Oh and thanks ShaneF. I'll check it out for sure!

 

[SCraig]

Don't GUESS about what settings you need to get a shot, DETERMINE what settings you need to get a proper shot.

Aperture is one of several things that controls depth of field, and it's not something you can just guess at until you have the experience to make an educated guess. A Canon 650D At 40mm and f/6.3 has a total depth of field of 0.72 feet at 4' focal distance. That is 4 inches in front of the point of focus and about 4.5 inches behind. Anything out of that range is going to lose sharpness. AT f/11 it changes to 1.3 feet total, or about 6-1/2 inches in front of the point of focus and 9 inches behind giving a LOT more latitude for your focus.

Try This Site for DOF calculations.

 

[ShaneF]

Not trying to be rude but maybe you should understand your camera a bit better before you go off doing photo shoots for people. It would be embarrassing not having any usable photos to give them in the end because you dident understand how your camera worked.

 

[KmH]

. . . your depth of field. It will be extended about 1/3 forward and 2/3 rearward, . . .

While this is often stated, at f/8 to f/11 it mainly applies to wide angle lenses (35 mm and shorter).
Wide angle lenses generally don't make good portraiture lenses.

Unless you are using a lens at a focal length shorter than 50 mm, the distribution of DoF will be close to 50% in front of and 50% behind at f/8 to f/11.
This can be verified by plugging appropriate numbers into a DoF calculator like - Online Depth of Field Calculator

As mentioned lens aperture is just 1 factor that determines DoF.
Indeed, point of focus distance has a big effect on DoF too. The closer the point of focus is, the shallower the DoF becomes.

For portraiture, I recommend using the longest focal length you can.