Focus question-HELP!

[KCYong]

how about this?
how to get the girl all in focus?
at the same time wanna a bokeh effect la~
big or small aperture??

likes the hands and legs is already out-of-focus.

does the focus option in camera matters?

nikon d60 18-55mm at 48mm, f5.6, 1/200 sec, ISO 100

and the below is my company outing and i'm a volunteered photographer
though my skill still not good la haha
but there're let me do this job~

nikon d60 18-55mm at 18mm, f3.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 800, build-in-flash menu at lowest power 1/32

i just want the people in table in focus
but seems the people at the back in the table is out-of-focus too coz the bigger aperture ==
what is the solution?

 

[SeAnCoLd]

i just want the people in table in focus
but seems the people at the back in the table is out-of-focus too coz the bigger aperture ==
what is the solution?

Use a smaller aperture? :bsmilie:

 

[KCYong]

normally what aperture did u use for event?
hope to get suggestions from event photographers ^^

 

[dennisc]

so yellow like simpsons

 

[Squid]

how about this? how to get the girl all in focus?
at the same time wanna a bokeh effect la~
big or small aperture??

likes the hands and legs is already out-of-focus.

does the focus option in camera matters?

nikon d60 18-55mm at 48mm, f5.6, 1/200 sec, ISO 100

To get the girl in focus WITHOUT considering bokeh, the combination of following may help
-- Use AF-S lens for faster focusing
-- Use AF-C or AF-A instead of manual focus setting
-- Use sweet spot of the lens (maybe F8 aperture instead of F5.6 at 48mm focal length)
-- Bumping up shutter speed even higher like 1/500 sec to freeze action

To improve bokeh (not creamy bokeh)
-- Use larger aperture lens
-- Increase distance between background objects and girl

 

[catchlights]

first pix, shutter speed not high enough, and let face it, your lens is too short to get nice bokeh.

second pix, aperture too wide, not enough depth of field, simple solution, just pack them closer. go and see how people do table group photos

 

[karnage]

I think the first picture the hands and feet are not out of focus, but rather, motion blur due to her jumping. Even though 1/200 seems like a pretty fast shutter speed, it's not fast enough to totally freeze her.

I never tried before, but I would think a long lens (100-300mm?) with an aperture like f5.6 or f8 would be able to get background out of focus (of course, the further the background is from the subject, the better), but would retain enough depth for a person. The drawback is you'd be standing pretty far off...

 

[KCYong]

To get the girl in focus WITHOUT considering bokeh, the combination of following may help
-- Use AF-S lens for faster focusing
-- Use AF-C or AF-A instead of manual focus setting
-- Use sweet spot of the lens (maybe F8 aperture instead of F5.6 at 48mm focal length)
-- Bumping up shutter speed even higher like 1/500 sec to freeze action

To improve bokeh (not creamy bokeh)
-- Use larger aperture lens
-- Increase distance between background objects and girl

but that's sth very confusing for me
sry

in the combination between using small and big aperture (bokeh)
then what aperture should be used exactly?

thanks

 

[zac08]

but that's sth very confusing for me
sry

in the combination between using small and big aperture (bokeh)
then what aperture should be used exactly?

thanks

If you want the subject to be sufficiently in focus, use a smaller aperture, get the subject to be further from the lens. Also you can use a wider lens, a wider focal length has better DOF than a longer lens.

if you want the BG to be blurrer, then use a larger aperture. and do the opposite of the above.

 

[KCYong]

then what is balance point between this two?
sry

 

[zac08]

then what is balance point between this two?
sry

You have to find out yourself as each scene differs from the other....

Focal length used
Aperture used
Subject to lens distance
Subject to BG distance

all these play a part. So you need to play with these values too.

 

[Squid]

By default, D60 sets colour mode to Mode IIIa which is suited for landscape and nature shots. Recommend thread starter to change colour mode to Mode Ia which suits images containing human, similar to those posted by threadstarter.

More information are located on page 102 of D60 manual.

 

[zac08]

By default, D60 sets colour mode to Mode IIIa which is suited for landscape and nature shots. Recommend thread starter to change colour mode to Mode Ia which suits images containing human, similar to those posted by threadstarter.

More information are located on page 102 of D60 manual.

And what does colour mode have anything to do with DOF? :dunno:

 

[Octarine]

And what does colour mode have anything to do with DOF? :dunno:

He might refer to the "yellow as simpsons" remark .. but I like the warmth. It's a sunset shot according the long shadow. According Exif it's Nikon setting "fine weather (9)" - AutoWb would only kill the warmth.

 

[zac08]

Yeah... but we're discussing about DOF right now, and he jumps in with a quote on the colour mode... kinda off track rite.... :sweat:

 

[Octarine]

Yeah... but we're discussing about DOF right now, and he jumps in with a quote on the colour mode... kinda off track rite.... :sweat:

Yeah, a bit blur, like OOF

 

[KCYong]

haha lol
still the same subject right haha
but i've also got learnt thing too ^^

 

[Dream Merchant]

KC, look at Catchlights' answer in post #6.

It essentially tells you everything you need to know.

If you want to read further, look up the relationship between aperture, focal length and bokeh, as well as topics like 'freezing motion' and 'how to take group photos'.

 

[KCYong]

ok.thanks a lot^^

 

[Limsgp]

If you want the entire subject to be in focus, but yet have a good bokeh, choose a background that is far, far away. Then, using a longer lens, stand further away & shoot at smaller aperture. Say, using F5.6 aperture, standing 4m away using a 50mm lens or standing 8m away using a 100mm lens with give DoF of approx 1m (camera specific due to different CoC, which is out of the scope of this discussion), which is enough to cover the subject comfortably. The further the background the nicer the bokeh, in general.

For the 2nd one, at 18mm & F3.5, standing at least 3m away should get everyone in focus, if you focus at the person at mid distance (not the nearest and not the furthest). The DoF in this case is approx 5m or more (camera specific).

how about this?
how to get the girl all in focus?
at the same time wanna a bokeh effect la~
big or small aperture??

likes the hands and legs is already out-of-focus.

does the focus option in camera matters?


nikon d60 18-55mm at 48mm, f5.6, 1/200 sec, ISO 100

and the below is my company outing and i'm a volunteered photographer
though my skill still not good la haha
but there're let me do this job~


nikon d60 18-55mm at 18mm, f3.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 800, build-in-flash menu at lowest power 1/32

i just want the people in table in focus
but seems the people at the back in the table is out-of-focus too coz the bigger aperture ==
what is the solution?