Portrait of my Hubby

[sabrina860]

EXIF:

35mm
f/1.8
1/80 (i think)
ISO 800 (i wish I realized this)
Metering: center weight
Focus mode: AF-Auto
AF area mode: Single point


Here is my husband:




Just wondering how the composition is and the focus. Are his eyes sharp enough? Is this a good way to focus: I single point focus (on the bridge of his nose between his eyes) then focus lock then recompose and shoot. Im just wondering how to get BOTH eyes in focus because usually I only get one.

[scootermcq]

Originally Posted by sabrina860

EXIF:

Im just wondering how to get BOTH eyes in focus because usually I only get one.

At an aperture of 1.8, you have a very small depth of field. You will need to close down the aperture a bit to get both eyes in focus. You can find a ton of free DOF calculators on line to plug in your numbers and see what size aperture you will need. Being as close as you appear to be, I imagine you should be fine around 2.8, but close it up a bit and see. You will also get a sharper picture if you are not at the extreme for the lens. Most have a sweet spot that is 1-2 stops less than wide open.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by sabrina860

Is this a good way to focus: I single point focus (on the bridge of his nose between his eyes) then focus lock then recompose and shoot. Im just wondering how to get BOTH eyes in focus because usually I only get one.

Not really, but it can work. It works worse the shallower the DOF.
Also keep in mind that DOF usually falls 1/3 in front of focus point and 2/3 behind. Because you selected the bridge if his nose (which is in front of his eyes) AND had a shallow DOF you lost the second eye. Had you selected his rt eye you might have gotten the left one in focus.

+everything Scooter said.

[sabrina860]

So in general.... i should always have the focus point at the eye (at a less shallow dof..2.8), focus lock then recompose then shoot? Am i losing sharpness recomposing? Is single point focus good for portraits? Sorry for all the ?'s but you all are such a big help!! I've come a long way in a short time because of this site!

[sk66]

Originally Posted by sabrina860

So in general.... i should always have the focus point at the eye (at a less shallow dof..2.8), focus lock then recompose then shoot? Am i losing sharpness recomposing? Is single point focus good for portraits? Sorry for all the ?'s but you all are such a big help!! I've come a long way in a short time because of this site!

Anytime you have a very shallow DOF recomposing after focus can cause problems. It would be preferable to compose and select the focus point over one of the eyes....

Think of a right angle triangle...the camera being at the apex. If you focus along either line from the camera and then recompose along the other line the distance to the subject changes.. It's enough to mess up critical focus situations.

[sabrina860]

Originally Posted by sk66

Anytime you have a very shallow DOF recomposing after focus can cause problems. It would be preferable to compose and select the focus point over one of the eyes....

Think of a right angle triangle...the camera being at the apex. If you focus along either line from the camera and then recompose along the other line the distance to the subject changes.. It's enough to mess up critical focus situations.

This is a passage from phototuts:

"There was absolutely no advantage to using the point over the subject without recomposing. In fact, focusing using the center point and recomposing actually was sharper in every shot except one case – macro"

Achieving Better Focus and Sharpness in Your Images

Hmm... im confused LOL. I guess ill test it out with my camera and see how it goes.

[sk66]

That's a good article...
taken from the same section: "Now one possibility that I think highly likely is that on my camera, the center focus point is three times more sensitive than any of the other eight points and is a more precise cross point. But that is the case with many cameras except for high-end models such as a Canon 1Ds Mark III or Nikon D3X. Another reason may be that most lenses are sharpest in the center and fall off to the side."

I guess your results may vary depending on your gear.