Using manual focus on children - 50mm f/1.8

[Kim4ester]

I have the D5200 and 50mm f/1.8, and the only way to use it is on manual focus as there is no autofocus motor built in to the camera. I have been able to do outdoor portrait sessions with friends, but tomorrow I am photographing my friend with her 3 year-old and not sure if I'll be able to pull off manual focus. Let's be real, we can't expect a 3 year-old to hold still while I lock in the focus!

Are there any tips for manual focusing on a kid? My only other lens is the 18-55mm kit lens and I don't have time to rent one. I love my 50mm but just not sure about the manual focus. I'm thinking maybe back up and focus at the max distance, using f/4 to increase the area of sharp focus to allow for some movement. I will have his mom and him play in the sandbox or something that will keep him occupied. Thoughts?? Other ideas??

 

[Designer]

Why don't you use the AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 G?

I would.

 

[astroNikon]

f/4?
go to f/8 or use your 18-55

How much of both of them do you want In Focus?
Face, eyes, ear,s hair, clothing, etc ?
Even with your kit lens you want to make sure they are in focus to everything you want in focus.

If the people in the photo stand still it should be easy to Manual Focus. But with 2 people in the photo you want to make sure to get both their faces etc totally in focus. So you may want to think of the distance to the person from camera and determine what aperture to use to get both of them in focus.

If you are f/4, at 10 feet away you have 2.04 feet DOF .. f/8 is 4.22 ft
f/5.6 is 2.89 ft DOF

f/4 at 5 feet is 0.5 ft DOF .... f/8 is 1ft DOF .. f/5.6 is 0.7 ft DOF
here is a calculator for that -->A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator

 

[Derrel]

I'll second that idea: USE THE KIT ZOOM and make sure the ISO is high enough to get a good, solid exposure at f/5.6 and 1/250 second, and you should be able to shoot active toddler play without issue. There's NO advantage to using an AF-D 50mm lens as manual focusing lens...the focusing action on those is not that great, and at closer ranges, the focusing throw on the 50/1.8 AF-D is very hair-trigger...it's NOT like a manual focus 50mm lens made twenty years ago, with a nice, slow focusing throw that is perfectly designed for hand-and-eye focus ascertainment. I own a couple 50.1,8 AF models...they're not quite as easy to use as my 50.1.4 Ai or 50/2 Ai models. On a small-finder, pentamirror body like a D5200, I want an autofocusing lens, all the time. So, go with the kit zoom and get the shots in-focus!

 

[Kim4ester]

f/4?
go to f/8 or use your 18-55

How much of both of them do you want In Focus?
Face, eyes, ear,s hair, clothing, etc ?
Even with your kit lens you want to make sure they are in focus to everything you want in focus.

If the people in the photo stand still it should be easy to Manual Focus. But with 2 people in the photo you want to make sure to get both their faces etc totally in focus. So you may want to think of the distance to the person from camera and determine what aperture to use to get both of them in focus.

If you are f/4, at 10 feet away you have 2.04 feet DOF .. f/8 is 4.22 ft
f/5.6 is 2.89 ft DOF

f/4 at 5 feet is 0.5 ft DOF .... f/8 is 1ft DOF .. f/5.6 is 0.7 ft DOF
here is a calculator for that -->A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator

Thank you so much astroNikon for your response, this is the first time I have ever posted a question on a discussion forumn and I wasn't sure what kind of help I would be able to get. The DOF calculator is a huge help, I have bookmarked it! It is for a mommy fashion blogger, so I need parts of her outfit in focus (ex. bodice) and some where her whole body is in focus from about 10 feet away. I have used f/2.8 on just her and was pleased with the results, but adding a second person (and a quickly moving one) I think I would need at least f/4. Again, thank you so much your help!!

 

[paigew]

Yeah use your kit lens 100%


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kim4ester]

Why don't you use the AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 G?

I would.

I was thinking of doing that, but the 18-55mm is just not as good of a lens. The 50mm has better optics.. is much sharper, better bokeh, capable of letting in more light if we are shooting in a darker area (location yet to be determined). I asked a professional photographer and he said there's no way I should use the 18-55mm, and I understand why. But I was wondering for more casual pics like this if it would be okay.

 

[Kim4ester]

I'll second that idea: USE THE KIT ZOOM and make sure the ISO is high enough to get a good, solid exposure at f/5.6 and 1/250 second, and you should be able to shoot active toddler play without issue. There's NO advantage to using an AF-D 50mm lens as manual focusing lens...the focusing action on those is not that great, and at closer ranges, the focusing throw on the 50/1.8 AF-D is very hair-trigger...it's NOT like a manual focus 50mm lens made twenty years ago, with a nice, slow focusing throw that is perfectly designed for hand-and-eye focus ascertainment. I own a couple 50.1,8 AF models...they're not quite as easy to use as my 50.1.4 Ai or 50/2 Ai models. On a small-finder, pentamirror body like a D5200, I want an autofocusing lens, all the time. So, go with the kit zoom and get the shots in-focus!

Thanks so much!! You make a very good point. I only wanted to use the 50mm because it is so much sharper, better bokeh.. I am always much happier with the quality of images with this lens. At f/4 I can get better shallow DOF than at 5.6 when using my kit lens zoomed all the way to 55mm. We definitely want the background more out of focus for the style of photography. But perhaps it is better to use the kit lens and get the shots in focus, than to take a chance with the 50mm when it's hit or miss. This is the conundrum I am in. Again, thanks for your advice, something to think about!

 

[Kim4ester]

Yeah use your kit lens 100%


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for your response! Using the kit lens would compromise quality (sharpness, bokeh, shallow DOF) but would allow me to worry less about the focus while trying to capture a rambunctious 3 year-old. Thanks!!

 

[Derrel]

Better optics? At f/8 I bet you cannot tell one lens from the other. And beside that, the world's BEST optics make bad images unless the focus is dead-on accurate. If you owned a camera body that would autofocus the 50mm lens, then it would make some sense to use it, but the thing is, with kids and a 50mm lens on a crop-frame body, you have a short telephoto look, so you will CONSTANTLY need to move yourself back and closer, back and closer, to get the right framing. What a "professional photographer" would use is fine for a professional photographer, but that's not you. You're asking questions on a forum where thousands of beginners ask questions like yours every year,and this question has come up her before,many,many times. It's FINE to use the 18-55mm zoom for casual pics like this. And again, at f/8 or f/7.1 in good light, or with a bit of an ISO boost, so you can get a shutter speed of at least 1/250 second, you will have SHARP, clear photos.

I am not a fan of shallow depth of field when it causes missed focus and second- and third-people to be rendered OOF. One of your biggest aids is f/5.6 to f/8, right in that range. You've GOT to get the focus nailed at closer ranges, and AF will allow you to do that, easily.

 

[astroNikon]

The 18-55 does get good reviews online --> Nikon 18-55mm VR
another --> Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR DX NIKKOR review: Digital Photography Review

It just doesn't have a wide aperture.
you can compensate for that by using higher ISO values, as Derrel mentions
and you have to make sure your shutter speed is high enough to prevent blur, once again 1/200 or higher
So you'll have to use your ISO to balance out the exposure for Aperture and Shutter.

The d7000 and higher bodies can AutoFocus your 50mm/1.8 AF-D lens.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I shoot hockey and focus manually so it's possible to shoot action that way, but it takes knowing how to do it I think (and practice). If you're used to focusing manually and good at it it might not be that hard to do.

I'd probably go early and figure out a vantage point at the sandbox that will give you a nice background. Get focused on the edge of the sandbox or better yet on any toys that are in there while he and mom and getting in so you just have to adjust your focus some once he gets settled and playing.

I wouldn't use a real large aperture and would want a reasonably fast shutter speed since he'll likely be moving, pouring sand etc. Sometimes it's a matter of watching and waiting and being ready to catch a particular moment, when he looks at mom, laughs etc. Well not too long waiting at his age, 2-3 seconds waiting to capture a good moment is longer than you'd think (enough time to do more that it would seem).

I've done a lot of sports and events and use prime lenses but I'm not familiar with your lens or know how good you are at focusing manually. I use short telephotos a lot (wouldn't a 50 on a crop be somewhat comparable to about an 85-90 portrait length?), whatever you use it's a matter of going early and figuring out where to set up.

He may want to run run run if it's a large park, maybe let him use up some energy first, then give mom a toy, bubbles etc. to get him to come to her wherever you want him to be. With younger children it can help to have a physical object to direct them to (yes I've worked with toddlers & families lol), stand next to the ____. We'd use carpet squares, maybe take something for mom, him even you to sit/stand on - those soft rubber jar openers? small to not show in the pictures, that's his 'spot', make a game out of moving your spots to a different place. Hope you have fun with it.

 

[KmH]

Did you know your D5200 has a manual focusing aid?
It's called Rangefinder and you turn it on in the Custom Shooting Menu - menu a4.
See page 159 of your D5200 Reference Manual.

You would definitely want to stop the 50 mm f/1.8D down a couple of stops or more to get the sharpest focus.
DoF with a 50 mm f/1.8 is more about the point of focus (PoF) distance than the lens aperture.
Even using f/1.8 you have to get quite close to your subject to make really shallow DoF.

Using f/3.5 and a PoF distance of 10 feet the total DoF is about 1.5 feet deep. Don't forget that about 45% (8 inches) of that 1.5 feet is in front of the PoF and 55% (10 inches) is behind the PoF.
Using f/3.5 and a PoF distance of 5 feet the total DoF is only 4 feet or about 5 inches total split 48% and 52% in front and behind the PoF.
Online Depth of Field Calculator

To maintain DoF control so you know for sure your subject(s) are inside the total DoF and will be in focus you should probably use f/5.6 or an even smaller lens aperture.

 

[Braineack]

I was thinking of doing that, but the 18-55mm is just not as good of a lens. The 50mm has better optics.. is much sharper, better bokeh, capable of letting in more light if we are shooting in a darker area (location yet to be determined). I asked a professional photographer and he said there's no way I should use the 18-55mm, and I understand why. But I was wondering for more casual pics like this if it would be okay.

with that said, use the kit lens.

 

[Patrice]

And besides, you say your client is a fashion blogger so the images are for web publication, while the 18-55 is not a top shelf premium lens it is by no means a dud either. It is amply capable of producing images with more than enough clarity and sharpness for any web publication.