DOF question

[peanutbeer]

Hello CS and the noobs here,

im always bothered by this thing DOF. when i start shooting it seems that i really cannot perfect it almost giving up. heres my queries

1.when im shooting a potrait using 50 mm 1.8 subject about 1 meter away from me my focus supposed to be the head area/ headshot. aperture priority at 1.8 i noticed my subject hair is already blurry which is not my intent. with this i wonder if there is a rule of thumb or a formula in taking headshots, portraits, or any subject for that matter in giving the correct DOF.

2. its my lack of skill or whatever but my shoots are really poor not sharp at all. is it a DOF problem i hate to admit its mine hahahaha..


poor noob needs help..

thanks in advance

 

[ExplorerZ]

Hello CS and the noobs here,

im always bothered by this thing DOF. when i start shooting it seems that i really cannot perfect it almost giving up. heres my queries

1.when im shooting a potrait using 50 mm 1.8 subject about 1 meter away from me my focus supposed to be the head area/ headshot. aperture priority at 1.8 i noticed my subject hair is already blurry which is not my intent. with this i wonder if there is a rule of thumb or a formula in taking headshots, portraits, or any subject for that matter in giving the correct DOF.

2. its my lack of skill or whatever but my shoots are really poor not sharp at all. is it a DOF problem i hate to admit its mine hahahaha..


poor noob needs help..

thanks in advance

1. this might help you.

2. at the beginning 50/1.8 ain't at f1.8... you gotta stop down.

 

[Michael]

your lense comes with a small manual (at least Nikon lenses do). that manual should contain a graph or table giving you the DOF for different apperture. have a look at it and set aperture accordingly.
If your camera still has a button that allows to close the blades, then check DOF through the view finder before you shoot.

 

[tltan]

shoot at f1.8, the DOF is very thin. why dont you try shooting at f2.8 (I find the nikkor 50mm f1.8 is pretty sharp at that aperture). Or shoot at f8, sure sharp. Softness of picture is due to handshake. Practice handholding technique - easier said then done though. hehehe.

Anyway, good luck, 50mm is a good lens, light and sharp. Enjoy the toy. try to take with better lighting and maintain the shutter speed above 1/50 if you are prone to handshake. Otherwise, the lens is very workable at lower then 1/focal length due to its weight and size.

Cheers,
tltan

 

[peanutbeer]

1. this might help you.

2. at the beginning 50/1.8 ain't at f1.8... you gotta stop down.

thanks for the link though im still trying to figure it out.

but what do you mean stop down? does it means i will set it to F1.4 or lower????

 

[peanutbeer]

shoot at f1.8, the DOF is very thin. why dont you try shooting at f2.8 (I find the nikkor 50mm f1.8 is pretty sharp at that aperture). Or shoot at f8, sure sharp. Softness of picture is due to handshake. Practice handholding technique - easier said then done though. hehehe.

Anyway, good luck, 50mm is a good lens, light and sharp. Enjoy the toy. try to take with better lighting and maintain the shutter speed above 1/50 if you are prone to handshake. Otherwise, the lens is very workable at lower then 1/focal length due to its weight and size.

Cheers,
tltan

thanks il try it...

but if ill set it at 2.8 but how far will i be from the subject?? is there any easy rule to follow esp for noobs? like at this aperture how far will i be from the subject im talking about the 50 mm lens. coz i find it ironic to move on to an expensive lens where in that prime lens i cant take the photos as i like it. hahaha sad but true

what if i shoot a full body for my 50mm 1.8 lens is it advisable?? at what aperture?

thanks a lot guys..

 

[tltan]

thanks il try it...

but if ill set it at 2.8 but how far will i be from the subject?? is there any easy rule to follow esp for noobs? like at this aperture how far will i be from the subject im talking about the 50 mm lens. coz i find it ironic to move on to an expensive lens where in that prime lens i cant take the photos as i like it. hahaha sad but true

what if i shoot a full body for my 50mm 1.8 lens is it advisable?? at what aperture?

thanks a lot guys..

there is a lot of trade off in terms of DOF and aperture. It depends on what you want to show the audience. Anyway, its a good lens. Good pictures does not necessary come from good lens. The person behind the lens must make it happen.

Go read up on DOF or try out on your camera using the various fstop and distance and record down. For me, I just enjoy shooting.

 

[ah.zeep]

thanks il try it...

but if ill set it at 2.8 but how far will i be from the subject?? is there any easy rule to follow esp for noobs? like at this aperture how far will i be from the subject im talking about the 50 mm lens. coz i find it ironic to move on to an expensive lens where in that prime lens i cant take the photos as i like it. hahaha sad but true

what if i shoot a full body for my 50mm 1.8 lens is it advisable?? at what aperture?

thanks a lot guys..

Hi,

If I'm not mistaken, how far you need to be from the subject depends on the focal length rather than the aperture. So if you're using a 50mm prime there's only one distance that will fufill your distance requirement; you will need to "foot-zoom" to get that correct.

The aperture f/2.8, f/1.8 etc will give you a trade-off of how much exposure you will get, v.s. shutter speed. Larger apertures (smaller f number) gives more light, nicer bokeh, but at the expense of a much thinner depth of field. So at f/1.8 you may find one part of the face is sharp and other parts slightly further off will be blurred.

 

[ExplorerZ]

thanks for the link though im still trying to figure it out.

but what do you mean stop down? does it means i will set it to F1.4 or lower????

u can't use f1.4 on a 1.8 lens... stop down = f1.8 -> f2.8 or small aperture size.