where to focus for landscapes

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joescrivens

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Hi there, a question on where in the composition to focus. Take this example shot I found online:

stony-beach.jpg

(source-http://a1phototips.com/five-tips-for-great-landscape-photography)

If I were taking a shot like this should I focus midway through the photo like where the cliff is or should I focus on the rocks in the foreground.

I was thinking perhaps I should focus on the rocks in the foreground then switch the lens to manual and turn it to infinity focus - is this the right method?
 
A lot depends on what length lens you're using, what light is available and then whether you are using a tripod or not.

In general - something like f11 should give you a decent depth of focus if you were using the furthest rock in the water. If that aperture didn't allow you a fast enough shutter speed to hand hold without upping the ISO - then the tripod comes into use.
 
Ok well lets say I am using tripod and f11 on a sigma 10-20 at 15mm. Where should I focus? Is there a rule of thumb? focus on the horizon, on the foreground, the background?
 
Some say 1/3rd into the photograph - In that example I'd probably be looking to focus on one of the further rocks in the middle foreground.
 
Try a DOF calculator, if you focus too far into the scene you will be waisting DOF. DiddyDave explained it perfectly at the Manchester meet with a little dance.
 
dinners said:
Some say 1/3rd into the photograph - In that example I'd probably be looking to focus on one of the rocks in the middle foreground.
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:plusone:
 
ok, so whats focus to infinity all about then?

I thought I read that anything further from your point of focus when set to infinity remains in focus?
 
joescrivens said:
ok, so whats focus to infinity all about then?

I thought I read that anything further from your point of focus when set to infinity remains in focus?
Click to expand...

That involves using a teeny aperture which won't give you the best image quality. Your lens will have an optimum aperture setting so if you can obtain the desired depth of focus 'nearer' to that - you should get a better result.

The dof calculator will show you how far infront & behind your point of focus remains 'in focus' with any lens length & aperture.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

15mm at f11 - it says if you focus on an object 30 feet away - focus behind will be infinity and 26 feet in front of the object would be fine.


.
 
ok thanks,

unfortunately my grasp of distances is just about as good as my knowledge of rocket science, so I have no idea how far things are away.

When I put in some calculations though at range 14mm and f11 it tells me no matter what the subject distance that my dof is infinite and that my far limit is infinite. So surely here then it matters not where I focus for whats behind it since everything is in focus from here, so I just have to be concerned with what is in focus in front of the subject
 
That's because (and why) you're using something like f11 :thumbs:

Where you focus will more likely affect the foreground.

If you put in a much bigger aperture you would see that your depth of focus behind your object would reduce.
 
joescrivens said:
ok so where do i focus to get the best of my foreground then?
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It depends how close your foreground is.

Just going from the dof calculator - 15mm @ f11 using a point 6 feet away to focus should give you focus from 1 feet or so from where your camera is.
 
i always chimp, but sometimes what looks sharp on the back of the lcd when seen back home doesn't look that great.

i guess it's practice practice practice then
 
the rocks mainly...they are closer and warrant sharpness
 
yes I have seen them, it's all foreign though if you have no concept of distance like me :-)
 
If you are using a 15mm focal length on a x1.6 crop sensor (24mm full frame equivalent) ' f11, then focus about 6 feet into the scene - everything from 3 feet to infinity should be acceptably sharp if printing up to A4.
 
foggy4ever said:
Try a DOF calculator, if you focus too far into the scene you will be waisting DOF. DiddyDave explained it perfectly at the Manchester meet with a little dance.
Click to expand...

jontucker said:
Did anyone video it?
Click to expand...

foggy4ever said:
No. But it would have been a youtube hit :lol:
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A YouTube hit eh??? Perhaps next time then :D



And to also answer the OP's question...

On superwide lenses such as the 10-20mm it hardly matters where you focus by f11 as the DoF is virtually everything. That said, if you are lying on the floor with the first beach pebble less than 12" away (your hand span & a bit if you've really no concept of distance ;)), then focussing manually at 3ft (probably about your leg length) will still mean everything's in acceptable focus

DD
 
ok, so it sounds like focus on my foreground at f11 or above and the rest of the shot will take care of itself!

theres a starting point at least
 
DiddyDave said:
.

On superwide lenses such as the 10-20mm it hardly matters where you focus by f11 as the DoF is virtually everything. That said, if you are lying on the floor with the first beach pebble less than 12" away (your hand span & a bit if you've really no concept of distance ;)), then focussing manually at 3ft (probably about your leg length) will still mean everything's in acceptable focus

DD
Click to expand...

One and a bit equals 12 inches, :thinking: blimey! .. I bet you scare all the girls away measuring it with them mate!! ;)
 
joescrivens said:
ok, so it sounds like focus on my foreground at f11 or above and the rest of the shot will take care of itself!

theres a starting point at least
Click to expand...

:thumbs: You got it.

DoF is a measure of the viewable in and out of focus ranges in a viewed image, so if your going to blow it up larger you may, or may not, want to consider increasing the dof to maintain the same sharpness as the A4 in a larger print viewed at the same distance....or, to put it another way, ...at f11, with the larger print, just step back a bit and it will look as sharp as the A4.
 
Press the little DOF Preview Button on your camera while looking through the VF. This will give you a decent enough live preview.

As mentioned it depends on the lens. A 200mm and a 28mm will have substantially different settings to achieve a similar photograph.

DOF calculators are useful too. I wish they still made lens' with a proper DOF scale. It would make life a whole lot easier sometimes.
 
joescrivens said:
unfortunately my grasp of distances is just about as good as my knowledge of rocket science, so I have no idea how far things are away.
Click to expand...

A little trick I picked up while studying architecture: work out how long one of your average strides is - for myself, I find that seven strides is close enough to 5 metres.

Handy when you want to work out the rough dimensions of a site without attracting too much attention ;) and also useful in situations like these.
 
Have yet to read the whole thread so forgive me if this has been said already.

My trick is to select manual focus, switch to live view, magnify a portion in the far distance, set focus at its nearest, hold depth of field preview and twist the focus ring towards infinity until the distant point I'm viewing does not get any sharper. That gives infinity in focus, and as much as what's nearer as is possible with the chosen aperture. It'll be the hyperfocal distance I guess but have never checked it against dof charts.
 
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