is this back focusing???

C

cuprajake

Messages
245
Edit My Images
Yes
hey guy's

went to my sisters wedding at the weekend, and while i got some half decent pics, i cant help but think there a little soft,

here is an example


DSC_8999 by cuprajake1, on Flickr

is this back focusing?

my set up is a nikon d300 and tamron 17-50 f2.8

one though is because the photo was taken at f2.8 but it should still focus on the focus point, which was the brides face

any thoughts or suggestions

regards jake
 
I cannot see too much wrong with focusing, but you have blown the whites on the dress :nono:
 
Not sure about back-focusing, it's not very sharp anywhere. How did you ensure focus on her face?

Exif says 1/80sec at 50mm which is marginal, so I'm guessing a bit of camera shake. ISO 250 is too low.
 
Last edited:
Looking at the original-size photo on your flickr, the door seems to be more in focus than the couple...
 
Catdaddy said:
Looking at the original-size photo on your flickr, the door seems to be more in focus than the couple...
Click to expand...

I would agree with that, door definitely more in focus, but have you just missed the focus point marginally?

Best way to know for sure is proper focus test under controlled conditions. I am sure someone can explain the technique better than I can, but you basically need a ruler, or lined, marked paper to focus on.
 
Yv said:
I would agree with that, door definitely more in focus, but have you just missed the focus point marginally?

Best way to know for sure is proper focus test under controlled conditions. I am sure someone can explain the technique better than I can, but you basically need a ruler, or lined, marked paper to focus on.
Click to expand...

Do you think so? If you look at the ground, nothing is properly sharp at any distance. Hard to say though ;)
 
HoppyUK said:
Do you think so? If you look at the ground, nothing is properly sharp at any distance. Hard to say though ;)
Click to expand...

Look at the marble on the door pillars or the grain on the door just above her head... it definitely seems to be a tad sharper to me...
 
hey guy's

thanks for the replys, the doors for me seem alot more infocus than the couple, add this to quite a few threads on the tamrons back focusing, i think it may be that,

i found the guide how to af fine tune, and had done the test, ended up bringing it forward +6 iirc.

the focus point was nailed, as if you look at a few pics, its consistent for the background to be sharper..

cheers for the help guy's n gal's
 
Is this a technique issue

Auto exposure, Aperture-priority AE, 1/80 sec, f/3.2, ISO 250, Compensation: -1/3 Centre weighted average

Suggests, you have metered the door, not the brides face - easy to do if you lift the finger as you recompose the shot

Why shoot at f3.2?
 
Richard King said:
Is this a technique issue

Auto exposure, Aperture-priority AE, 1/80 sec, f/3.2, ISO 250, Compensation: -1/3 Centre weighted average

Suggests, you have metered the door, not the brides face - easy to do if you lift the finger as you recompose the shot

Why shoot at f3.2?
Click to expand...

I think it probably is a technique issue. I agree that the door looks sharper, but the gratings on the floor are equally unsharp front to back as far as I can tell which suggests it may be an optical illusion.

And if the lens was back focusing to that extent, which is massive, an adjustment of 6 would not fix it.

I would just warn about using AF micro adjustment, if only because and with respect to the OP, when these things come up it almost always turns out to be pilot error and you have to be very careful with AF adjust not to make things worse (lots of threads on how to do it).

But putting all that to one side, there's enough evidence that it could be all sorts of things that we can only guess at. Looking at the camera settings though, they're marginal. ISO is too low, which is pushing the shutter speed down into the danger zone for camera shake and there's possibly some subject movement too.

I would suggest ISO800 would be better on a dull rainy day, then focus-recompose with the centre AF point on the bride's face would nail the focus. That would sort it.

I'd also put the very smallest dash of fill-in flash in there, which would add a bit of sparkle and guarantee a crisp overlay (personal choice though ;)). Not sure what's happened to the overall exposure, probably just Flickr but the dress is absolutely blown to bits which is a cardinal sin!

HTH I just don't want the op to think that the problem has been fixed when it might not be :)
 
thanks for the great reply,

two days later i noticed the focus lock button lol i was physically moving the focus point aroun rather than using the centre and recomposing which you said,

im glad it was only personal pics which i had been taking haha, she did want me to do them all, which i would gladly do (money issuse for her) but then she found a photgrapher for the whole day 1-9:30 pm for £300 so i told her to use him, as any pro would be better in a situation i have never been in,

as you say user error it probably is, but in alot of the pics? i wouldnt of dreamed about suggesting the back focusing only, tamrons have/can be known to do it,

i have a friends wedding soon, so will put your tips to good use, theres me thinking the iso would be fine lol.
 
Its not so much about the ISO "being fine" - its more about your shutter speed being fine :)

Raising the ISO to say 800, would have allowed you a much faster shutter speed - which should help reduce the blur caused either by you, or by the B&G moving during the shot.

I dont know how good the Nikon D300 is for high ISO but would hazard a guess that you wouldnt ideally want to go above ISO 800 unless your shutter speed was below acceptable (consider the shutter speed vs focal length rule)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top