Trouble with focusing

[mbrook]

Hello! Im new to the forum. I am having a frustrating dilema with my camera and its focusing. Im sure its my own error but I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Maybe someone can help. Yesterday I took some family pictures for a work friend. Many of them turned out great, but some were out of focus. One frustrating photo shows the sand in front of the kids in focus while the faces are slightly blurry. Any advice? Thanks

 

[Ms.Nash]

Can post the exif data, the focus mode and lens you used?

 

[mbrook]

Can post the exif data, the focus mode and lens you used?

I was using auto focus. My lens is a Canon EF 50mm 1.4.

 

[SCraig]

It's not out of focus, it's out of the depth of field. You were shooting at f/2.2 and the point of focus was about 3' in front of your subjects (I could see some sand in front of them in clear focus). At that aperture the depth of field was too narrow to encompass the subjects. You need to insure that the point of focus is ON your subjects and deep enough to encompass all of them.

Edit ... According to the DOF calculator on This Site your depth of field was only about 1' deep which is why the subjects were out of focus.

 

[The_Traveler]

It's not out of focus, it's out of the depth of field. You were shooting at f/2.2 and the point of focus was about 3' in front of your subjects (I could see some sand in front of them in clear focus). At that aperture the depth of field was too narrow to encompass the subjects. You need to insure that the point of focus is ON your subjects and deep enough to encompass all of them.

this is why posting a large image really helps to answer questions

 

[KmH]

I was using auto focus. My lens is a Canon EF 50mm 1.4.

Your T2i has 3 different auto focus modes.

Depth-of-field (DoF) was mentioned, and DoF is all about focus. DoF is a photography concept that a lot of people have difficulty coming to grips with.

Here is some info that may help - Understanding Depth of Field in Photography

 

[KmH]

Can post the exif data, the focus mode and lens you used?

The photo that was posted has EXIF data attached to it.

Many browsers have EXIF extensions, and you can download free EXIF readers from the internet. Visit Opanda.com or PhotoMe.de

 

[mbrook]

My depth of field is a little too narrow, yes. But Im trying to figure out why the focus point ended up on the sand and not the faces where I intended it. Must have done something with the focus points on the camera. Just recently started experimenting with that so I may have done something I shouldn't have.

 

[christop]

My depth of field is a little too narrow, yes. But Im trying to figure out why the focus point ended up on the sand and not the faces where I intended it. Must have done something with the focus points on the camera. Just recently started experimenting with that so I may have done something I shouldn't have.

I think this is likely. Your camera probably has a handful of auto-focus points, and the camera will select any one of those points on its own unless you tell it to select one of them. Mine has 7 AF points but I keep only the center point active most of the time so I always know where the camera will focus. It's trivial to recompose after focusing if the center AF point doesn't fall exactly on the subject (like if I want to follow the rule of thirds or something ).

 

[mbrook]

Thanks all for the advice. Figured it was my own error, but wanted to rule anything else out. If anyone else reads this and has any other focus advice please share!!