Canon 500D - How To Perfectly Focus On Everything in the frame?

13photography

13photography

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Hannah Smith-Chilton
Edit My Images
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Hey,

If i want to focus on every thing in my pic, what do i do?

Theres an option called AF point selection, where i can select a diamond shape, this usually focuses into a models outline!!!

But i want the eyes, the toes, just everything in perfect focus!!

Please Help!!

Hannah
 
I think for this......... and not a canon user, so may be wrong, is you will want a great depth of field.............. i.e. f 16 or so...........

This link may help explain what I mean..........

Generally autofocus will select a point or group of points..... which the camera will focus on promarily. With f 1.4 etc, only a small part of the frame will be in focus around the focal point selected.


Hope this helps
 
there's no reason to feel silly after asking a very reasonable question, Hannah. Just have a quick read up on the effect of aperture on depth of field and you wont have any more problems :thumbs:

I personally dont think autofocus is a bad thing in a studio shoot situation. Just use single point AF and focus on the subject's eyes, and choose the appropriate aperture to give you the depth of field required
 
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If Hannah doesn't mind can I just ask the following Q? It's following on from what has been discussed...

If you set Aperture to f16 or similar and focus on the eyes, for example, so long as the feet are well within the DOF range will the toes be as sharp as the eyes? Or does the sharpness tail off from the DOF centre outwards?

If they are just as sharp then would it be acceptable to focus the once and not bother for the rest of the shoot unless you move a significant distance form each other or you're after a different DOF?

Fanks :)
 
Good question!!

I'm fed up of some pics having perfect focus on the eyes, then others dont!!!

Even though i havnt changed nothing...Ohhh im just getting so confused..
 
tintin said:
If Hannah doesn't mind can I just ask the following Q? It's following on from what has been discussed...

If you set Aperture to f16 or similar and focus on the eyes, for example, so long as the feet are well within the DOF range will the toes be as sharp as the eyes? Or does the sharpness tail off from the DOF centre outwards?

If they are just as sharp then would it be acceptable to focus the once and not bother for the rest of the shoot unless you move a significant distance form each other or you're after a different DOF?

Fanks :)
Click to expand...

In theory yes... but that does also depend on the type of lens you are using as some are "softer" (not pin sharp) as others. Generally lenses are sharpest in the centre.
 
Use the AF point nearest the models eyes to minimise re framing the shot and a small aperture, the downside to using the small aperture is slower shutter speeds and the background not being thrown out of focus.
I would suggest trying F4 and making sure you nail the focus on the eyes.
Shooting in short bursts (continuous shooting mode) can help as well.
Finally shooting raw helps as the sharpening tools in ACR are pretty powerful so can help sort out any small errors.

You can of course cheat and use the A-DEP mode on the 500D where it will make sure it uses an aperture small enough that everything in the shot is in focus.
 
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Use a shorter focal length. Stop the lens down to f/5.6, f/8 or even further. Use flash to illuminate the shot (you'll probably have to if you've stopped down that much).
 
Sorry if this comes across as blunt, but something such as focus and aperture is the second and third thing you need to understand after how to turn the camera on. Is a glamour shoot with a full studio lighting setup (as mentioned in your other thread) a little bit over-ambitious at this stage?
It's a bit like driving an articulated lorry after your first driving lesson.

I don't intend to knock your confidence, but perhaps spending a few months reading photography theory, starting with just a camera and lens would help you answer all of your questions and more that right now you don't even know need asking.

Best of luck with everything but bear in mind there are many, many members here who spend huge amounts of time learning and can not afford high end cameras and lighting. Make sure for everyone's sake you make the most of it :)
 
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Just asking for a little advice for tomorrows shoot..
These are models just helping me out while i'm learning..Isnt it good to have the equipment to practise with?

Another photographer just critisised me for asking questions and for having good equipment..Maybe i am wrong to ask

I just find it good to ask experts, books can teach me, but cant answer my specific questions..
 
13photography said:
Just asking for a little advice for tomorrows shoot..
These are models just helping me out while i'm learning..Isnt it good to have the equipment to practise with?

Another photographer just critisised me for asking questions and for having good equipment..Maybe i am wrong to ask

I just find it good to ask experts, books can teach me, but cant answer my specific questions..
Click to expand...

Perhaps attending a photography workshop so you have an instructor who can answer your questions and give you hands-on help would be a good choice?
 
Digital_Clarity said:
Sorry if this comes across as blunt, but something such as focus and aperture is the second and third thing you need to understand after how to turn the camera on. Is a glamour shoot with a full studio lighting setup (as mentioned in your other thread) a little bit over-ambitious at this stage?
It's a bit like driving an articulated lorry after your first driving lesson.

I don't intend to knock your confidence, but perhaps spending a few months reading photography theory, starting with just a camera and lens would help you answer all of your questions and more that right now you don't even know need asking.

Best of luck with everything but bear in mind there are many, many members here who spend huge amounts of time learning and can not afford high end cameras and lighting. Make sure for everyone's sake you make the most of it :)
Click to expand...

Bit harsh mate, she's only asking for a little guidance and to be fair it's debatable whether focus and aperture would be the second and third things you learn after picking a camera up, others may feel composition and subject matter come first... and yes it's easy to learn the later before the former, just put the camera on auto.

I joined this forum to also ask such questions and if everyone answered like you I'd quickly find somewhere else to go, luckily for us they don't.
 
Ok I think you need to start understanding some of these things - don't worry I think doing is the best way, I think trial and error is the best way to learn, to see results makes a difference.

There were 3 threads on this a while ago courtesy of MD which I've found, follow the exercises and it may help you see what changing these setting does - as will looking at the pictures in the thread :D

Lesson 1 - Aperture or f stop which is what changes depth of field (amount in focus).
Lesson 2 - Shutter Speed, or exposure, this is where you got confused with 1/25 and 1/125.
Lesson 3 - ISO. This is the thing you had at 1000 on auto, ie wayyyy too high, native on cameras is 100 or I think 200 on some.


Reading those threads may help you to see how it's effected when you change a setting.

Edit: You may know this already but just in case - cameras don't generally (or ever, not a clue actually if any do..) move the settings in whole stops, most move in 1/2 or 1/3 etc stops to give more adjustment, but the same principle applies - so if you move your aperture down 1/3 which is 1 movement, to move ISO or shutter speed will take the same amount.

This chart shows about shutter speed and aperture: http://www.photonhead.com/beginners/shutterandaperture.php

I also just accidentally found this http://www.photonhead.com/beginners/stops.php - it's a bit interactive so you can change the 3 to keep it balanced in the middle (which isn't necessarily what you always want but the balance part is the important bit!)


Hope those help a bit :D
 
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Oh dear, i feel terrible now :(

Thanks for your back though, i do wish people could be a tad more gentle sometimes, im just a wuss and cant take it :(

But on the other hand, i'm trying to keep away from Auto..Although i went out on location with a model and found myself in a desperate situation where i had to use it!

On the plus side...

I'm having a page feature in Fast Car magazine In the january issue!!!! :) :) :)
Well...Im not, but my images are!!

Hehehe
 
13photography said:
Oh dear, i feel terrible now :(

Thanks for your back though, i do wish people could be a tad more gentle sometimes, im just a wuss and cant take it :(

But on the other hand, i'm trying to keep away from Auto..Although i went out on location with a model and found myself in a desperate situation where i had to use it!

On the plus side...

I'm having a page feature in Fast Car magazine In the january issue!!!! :) :) :)
Well...Im not, but my images are!!

Hehehe
Click to expand...


Don't feel terrible - everyone had to learn all this, just like driving a car - nobody starts out magically perfect! And different people learn in different ways, some people understand best from reading, some need to see the difference - most a combination. I can tell you that once it sinks in of how it all works it gets a lot easier as most situations you'll at least have a clue where to start :)


Oh and congrats on the feature!
 
Thankyou :)

I have a tutor with my course that im doing, but hes away for 4 weeks!!
So i sort of come to you lot for help in the meantime!
Some people are fine with it and will really help out...But others just pretty much tell you that you shouldnt be asking!
But then i think, why look at thread in the first place, when you can see i'm clearly asking for advice!

Oh well...rant over...
Il master the whole thing one day!
 
Digital_Clarity said:
Sorry if this comes across as blunt, but something such as focus and aperture is the second and third thing you need to understand after how to turn the camera on. Is a glamour shoot with a full studio lighting setup (as mentioned in your other thread) a little bit over-ambitious at this stage?
It's a bit like driving an articulated lorry after your first driving lesson.

I don't intend to knock your confidence, but perhaps spending a few months reading photography theory, starting with just a camera and lens would help you answer all of your questions and more that right now you don't even know need asking.

Best of luck with everything but bear in mind there are many, many members here who spend huge amounts of time learning and can not afford high end cameras and lighting. Make sure for everyone's sake you make the most of it :)
Click to expand...

I think you could have worded this slightly better. Yes it is true you should have at least a basic understanding of things but reading a book for a few months prior might be good for one person but imo you need to put it into practice as you go along. You mention about those who spend huge amounts of time learning and can not afford high end cameras and lighting, I do not see this as having anything to do with the Op`s question :shrug:

Have no fears about asking questions on Tp Hannah ;) I myself have never been one for reading much. At school I gained an O level in metalwork, this was even after failing to attend the theory side of the exam :shrug: It seems the only persons time you are using up is your own and it is not like you are being paid for your work. So if setting up your gear and pressing buttons and tweaking dials helps you understand things better, then you do it :)
 
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Don't worry about what people say. Some just say the wrong things also expecting you to know as much as them!!

Ask as many questions as you want, that is what this place is for. Everyone has to start somewhere.

I haven't even stepped on the first rung of the photography ladder yet!!
 
This is for the original post about all those AF points. You can't just choose those points to have everything in focus like one AF point for the eyes and one for toes etc. There is only one plane of perfect focus (a certain distance from camera to object). You can't have 2 different distances in perfect focus. Using the aperture correctly like others said will make it appear so that the toes and eyes and other things are in focus. As suggested by someone else i would use an AF point to focus on the eyes unless you're using a shallow DOP and want to highlight a certain part of the body rather than the eyes like some people do with babies toes. Hope i didn't make you more confused...
 
Glad things went well for ya. Up load some. I'd like to see them...
 
tintin said:
Bit harsh mate, she's only asking for a little guidance and to be fair it's debatable whether focus and aperture would be the second and third things you learn after picking a camera up, others may feel composition and subject matter come first... and yes it's easy to learn the later before the former, just put the camera on auto.

I joined this forum to also ask such questions and if everyone answered like you I'd quickly find somewhere else to go, luckily for us they don't.
Click to expand...

Personally, given the following in her about page on her website:
"We specialise in most photographic sublects ranging from family portraiture to commercial work, and anything inbetween!"
and
"created and managed by Hannah Smith, a talented photographer who has always excelled in fantastic photography"

I don't think it was that harsh, if you proclaim to be profficient enough to be a working commercial tog you should at least understand the basics :shrug:
 
B1ts - I'm not really in the business of judging people, not my style. People claim all kinds of things and have reasons for these claims which are no doubt to complex for a faceless forum to comprehend in an unbiased fashion. I prefer to leave these factors out and concentrate on what's important, i.e. trying to help people at the level they are comfortable with. But whatever floats your boat.

Hannah - got any links for the pics then?
 
tintin - You apparently are in that business, as you judged Digital_Clarity for their posting of an opinion, so maybe your 'style' is not so laid back as you say
Perhaps you should look at the OP's commercial website offering professional photography services before commenting further.

I have my opinion and have voiced it, however you 'prefer to leave these factors out' is your perogative as it is others to include relevant information in forming their own opinion.
 
I can't speak for everyone but I imagine we're ALL of the same mentality... If someone needs advice or help then we can offer it. That's why we're registered on the forums; because we're community-minded people. So before this turns into a bunfight shall we all bear that in mind.

The point of contention is; how much effort and work does one expect should be put in before someone comes asking for help and advice?

For example:
"Can someone tell me about exposure??"

Or:
"I've read all of my books, looked on google and RTFM and I cannot understand how exposure is affected by shutter speed and aperture, can someone help?"

Tintin, your attitude is admirable! However if someone asked you the first question of the examples above would you be so patient?
 
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