Faces out of Focus

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mcddeb
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Faces out of Focus

Unread post by mcddeb »

Hello all!

I have noticed in some of the multi-subject photos I'm taking not everyone will be in sharp focus even if they are essentially on the same plane. I don't know if I am getting nervous and not getting the focal point right or if I have my camera setting wrong. I shoot with a A700 and in camera raw. I have AEL on I think it's called the wide bracket, which I thought would have everything in focus as opposed to the spot focus bracket. I need to go back over this section in Gary's book. Oh, I purchased his advance topics 1 & 2 - great resources BTW!

Thanks for the help and any ideas.

Debra
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KevinBarrett
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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by KevinBarrett »

AEL controls light metering, not focus. Try using a smaller aperture (higher "f" number) to get a deeper depth of field. Backing up and zooming in will get you a deeper depth of field at the same f/stop if you can't forfeit any light-capturing ability. It may ultimately be the lens you are using. It could have "curvature of field" which means its plane of focus is curved like shooting into a bowl, or it may just be softer at the edges.

Where are the out of focus faces in the frame? What lens are you using?
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Dr. Harout
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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Debra, which kind of focus area are you using? Is it the "Wide", "Spot" or "Local"? My guess is that the camera is set to its default setting, i.e. "Wide" focus area and anything in front of their face plane will get in focus.
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mcddeb
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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by mcddeb »

Here's the photo session of the family, the children seem to be slightly oof and sometimes the dad as he is so much taller than everyone else.

http://s341.photobucket.com/albums/o383 ... %20Family/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kevin, my mistake, there is a small switch that surrounds the AEL button that I change to get wide, spot or local focus area and yes it is set on wide. Which would have been a better setting? The lens I'm using is the SAL 18-250. I haven't had the funds to upgrade to a 70-200.

Debra
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Dr. Harout
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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Debra, hold on. The switch that surrounds the AEL button is for Matrix, Center weighted or Spot metering which all are for exposure not focus.
Let me tell you the easiest way to explain. Go to the menu, and from the beginning (with the camera icon), go to the 3rd page, and there the second line.
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KevinBarrett
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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by KevinBarrett »

It is hard to tell much from these pictures as they are all very small. Also, Doc is right, that little ring-switch has nothing to do with focus. Focus is controlled with the center icon in your menu on the rear LCD. It will either appear as a box made of four corner brackets for "Wide" (default), or eleven dots for "Point" or eleven boxes for "Local."
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mcddeb
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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by mcddeb »

Well, that would certainly explain a lot!! sheesh, where has my brain been. I'll give all that a check in a couple of days. My son is a Marine and is leaving in the morning for his permanent duty station in Hawaii, we leave near the Atlanta airport but the Corp says he has to leave from Jacksonville, NC so we have to drive him there. Trying to save the guy a little money. Can't wait to see if that takes care of my problem. Gotta go turn the steaks,

Debra
Last edited by mcddeb on Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by mcddeb »

Okay, marine has left the building for a bit, gone to say goodbye to some friends.

If I weren't so excited about figuring this out I would feel really stupid about now. :lol: I can't believe I had this all twisted up, of course it is a bit confusing, at least to me! Okay, I am going to go back and read some more of Gary's book--again. In the meantime, which AF area- wide spot or local - is it supposed to be set on if you are photographing a group of people and you want everyone in focus and what is up with the AEL brackets anyways? I took some photos of a can on my desk and I can tell the difference between the 3 choices. And is the AEL supposed to be set the same as the AF? Is this one of those things where there is about 10 different ways to get the same thing?

Man, you guys have been so helpful, thanks a bunch! I can't believe I have been such a dunce!

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Re: Faces out of Focus

Unread post by KevinBarrett »

The switch around the AEL button is called the "Metering Mode Switch" should be set independently from the autofocus. That is not to say that they should not be set on "equivalent" settings, but that their three respective settings are similar only in interface. You can read all about it on page 48 of your manual.

Basically, the Metering Mode Switch has two extremes, one uses light levels from all over the frame to determine the exposure, and the other considers only the center of the frame. Between these two settings is a compromise that uses the whole area but gives more "weight" to the center of the frame. If you are shooting for several faces across the frame, use the wide area to make sure the camera considers the light all over. If it is just one face in the middle but you want to use the surrounding area as well, use the center weighted. If you want precise control and there is one particular area that you want exposed just right (and you don't care if you get blown highlighted areas or deep black shadows elsewhere), use the spot metering and put that area in the middle, then hold the AEL button and re-frame the picture how you want it.

As for focus, (page 49) make sure the switch on the front of the camera below the lens mount is set to "S" for still subjects...there's an easy mnemonic device. Wide focus would be safe to use only if your subjects fill up the AF area. Otherwise, use Spot AF to "lock on" to a face with the half-press of the shutter button and re-frame the image before the full shutter-press. If you're using a tripod and don't want to move the camera around like this you can select Local AF and choose a suitable AF point from the eleven and make your exposure from that. If you are using a 10-second timer, the focus will not change after the shutter-press with any of the focus options.

Bracketing will let you take three or more exposures, first making the "correct" exposure, then one that is slightly underexposed in the camera's opinion, then one that is slightly overexposed. You can control the order in which it takes these images; mine goes from "Underexposed" to "Correct" to "Overexposed." Other bracketing options in the Drive Mode menu will give you similar treatments of White Balance and a set of increasingly aggressive applications of DRO from a single exposure.
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