Group Potrait

[whitelighter]

hi all,

i need advise on how to shoot group of people. For example, i have two people sitting on a 3-seater couch and they are far apart horizontally, one of them sitback comfortably and one of them slighty forward holding a cup of tea that he has just picked up. I have difficulty to focus two of them. If i focus the slightly-forward one, the other person is a bit out-of-focus. i was using P-mode bcoz it is easier especially during an event.

Any advise?

[smc1377]

If someone is out of focus, you need to change your aperture. Basically the smaller the number, the less depth of field. So if you want your focus to cover a larger range, you need to increase the numeric value of your aperture (if you shoot it as f3.5, try going up to a higher number like f8).

[cherie592]

Originally Posted by smc1377

If someone is out of focus, you need to change your aperture. Basically the smaller the number, the less depth of field. So if you want your focus to cover a larger range, you need to increase the numeric value of your aperture (if you shoot it as f3.5, try going up to a higher number like f8).

what do i do if my lens is 2.8? should i try using the manual focus on lens? I have this same problem.

Thanks.

[t blanchard]

If your lens goes to 2.8, it is very unlikely that is the only aperture setting - it is most likely a range such as f2.8-f22. You need to shoot it Aperture Priority Mode (AV on Canon) and set your aperture to a number as SMC suggested, such as f8 or f11. If you do not know how to do this then it's a great time to grab your manual! This is where using auto or P mode will not do you any good, so try to break out of those modes. AV mode is super fast - just set your aperture before you set up the photo.

Manual focus will not have anything to do with the depth of field, although with manual focus you can ensure you are getting the areas you want in focus.