taking a picture of 2 people

swmocity · Apr 17, 2009

for some reason i have a problem with this...for example when two people come together to take a picture side by side its always that space in between the two of them...where the heads meet...what would be the proper way to focus a picture like that...i usually select the center focus point and i stand directly in front of the 2 subjects...but my camera always focus on the back ground because of the space thats in between the two people...would a manual focus do better?sorry if it sounds confusing...i will try to find a picture as a example

EhJsNe · Apr 17, 2009

manual focus and a smaller aperture will get it in focus better.

swmocity · Apr 17, 2009

EhJsNe said:
manual focus and a smaller aperture will get it in focus better.

but you know what im talking about though right...that small space thats there.

linpelk · Apr 17, 2009

Please, others, correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't you just focus on one of the two subjects, (holding down your shutter button half way), then recompose and take the shot (assuming you have a small enough aperture to get all subjects in focus)?

rufus5150 · Apr 17, 2009

You could provided the plane of focus and the faces of the individuals are the same (and with smaller apertures, you've got more room to work with).

I have to say, though, that anything that requires manual focus on an XTi can be a complete pain in the arse. The viewfinder is pretty much crap on that model.

sburatorul · Apr 18, 2009

linpelk said:
Please, others, correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't you just focus on one of the two subjects, (holding down your shutter button half way), then recompose and take the shot (assuming you have a small enough aperture to get all subjects in focus)?

she has a point there!

hankejp · Apr 18, 2009

+1. That is what I would do.

tsaraleksi · Apr 18, 2009

Just switch to an off-center focus point that happens to be on one of the faces you want to photograph.

Flash Harry · Apr 19, 2009

Yeah, fiddle with the camera, a big no. Focus on the nearest mug, lock focus, stop down the lens, recompose and shoot, theres no point focusing between two subjects as obviously they will be oof. H

swmocity · Apr 19, 2009

linpelk said:
Please, others, correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't you just focus on one of the two subjects, (holding down your shutter button half way), then recompose and take the shot (assuming you have a small enough aperture to get all subjects in focus)?

ive tried that before, it works ok...sometimes the picture will still be out of focus just a little...but i was just wondering if it was another way to do it

Josh66 · Apr 19, 2009

swmocity said:
ive tried that before, it works ok...sometimes the picture will still be out of focus just a little...but i was just wondering if it was another way to do it

If you are shooting wide open, it's possible that you are shifting forward or back while recomposing, moving your subject out of the area of sharp focus.
If you are shooting wide open, try stopping down a little (f/4 or 5.6, something like that).

There are only 3 ways to do what you want.

1 - Manual focus
2 - Focus then recompose
3 - Use a focus point that doesn't require you to recompose

swmocity · Apr 19, 2009

O|||||||O said:
If you are shooting wide open, it's possible that you are shifting forward or back while recomposing, moving your subject out of the area of sharp focus.
If you are shooting wide open, try stopping down a little (f/4 or 5.6, something like that).

There are only 3 ways to do what you want.

1 - Manual focus
2 - Focus then recompose
3 - Use a focus point that doesn't require you to recompose

thx...lets say im taking a picture of 3 people but they are in different spots...like spread out...is it possible to get all 3 people in focus...