How to get 2 subjects in focus with bokeh?


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moomoo1

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Sep 7, 2009
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Hello newbie here need some help. I want to take a pic with 2 person at the SIDE of the photo, with bokeh behind. I've a canon 500d, tried evaluative with manual selection of af pt. But since only 1 af pt can be selected and I want bokeh behind, the image of one person will not be as sharp. Is there a better way to do this?
 

should be able to do it
unless the background is very near to the further person
then u may wan to use flash
if still cannot - photoshop
 

if you want both people to be sharp with the most amount of out of focus bokeh behind, use the largest F stop. (1.2/1.4/1.8?) and make sure that both people are standing exactly side by side, not one in front one behind.

if they have to be standing at different distances from you, 2 options.

1) take 2 separate shots with each person in absolute focus and blend photos together in photoshop

2) use a smaller aperture to make sure both people are in focus. F4/ 5.6 / 8?
 

If I understand you correctly, the 2 person at the side is of same dist to the cam, so you just do a focus on one of the subject, then re-compose your shot and shoot...open up the aperture to create the bokeh effect...
 

make sure the two person are in the same plane of focus. if the aperture is too big, the dof might be too small to play ard with .

alternatively step down the aperture and get the two subjects in focus, while placing them far from the background to have the background in deeper oof

* bokeh refers to the asthetic quality of the oof, u r probably referring to oof instead.

Ryan
 

Hello newbie here need some help. I want to take a pic with 2 person at the SIDE of the photo, with bokeh behind. I've a canon 500d, tried evaluative with manual selection of af pt. But since only 1 af pt can be selected and I want bokeh behind, the image of one person will not be as sharp. Is there a better way to do this?

You focus on one person and move the other person back and forth until he's sharp also.
 

LOL, canon has an automatic function for this exact situation where they set the f/stop for you.... This function has been around since the film days, please read your manual for a better understanding of your camera.

If you cant find, or your camera didn't come with one. You can download it from Canon's website....

I'd tell you how to do it, but we're probably using different cameras.


Adam
 

depth of field depends on your aperture size, your distance from the subject as well as your focal length. So you probably need to play with the 3 to get the optimum. Maybe you use a smaller aperture like f5.6? or you could take a few steps back?
 

I want bokeh behind,

You can't get bokeh behind. You CAN make the background OOF, but the quality of the OOF areas (in other words if it's good/bad bokeh) will depend on your lens.
 

You focus on one person and move the other person back and forth until he's sharp also.
this is the best way to ensure both persons are in correct focusing, do note some lenses will have poor image quality at the edges, so do not mistaken this is out of focus, is just the limitation of the lens.
 

Hello newbie here need some help. I want to take a pic with 2 person at the SIDE of the photo, with bokeh behind. I've a canon 500d, tried evaluative with manual selection of af pt. But since only 1 af pt can be selected and I want bokeh behind, the image of one person will not be as sharp. Is there a better way to do this?
btw, you can make the background out of focus,
you can have narrow depth of field,

but you can't have bokeh behind,
 

Tks all for ur help and suggestions!
Sorry, I'm using the term bokeh wrongly. Ya, I meant a narrow DOF behind them. I want an angled shot, with 2 of them at the corner of the photo, so one will be slightly behind the other. Actually the sharpness seemed ok on the camera screen, but when I zoom in on comp screen, it's very obvious tt one person is sharper than the other. Is it possible to manually select 2 AF pt on the camera?
 

Btw, I'm taking kids lah, so they dun hv the patience to let me "move" them ard too much.

Catchlight,
We did a studio shot with u b4 sometime back!!! :)
 

Tks all for ur help and suggestions!
Sorry, I'm using the term bokeh wrongly. Ya, I meant a narrow DOF behind them. I want an angled shot, with 2 of them at the corner of the photo, so one will be slightly behind the other. Actually the sharpness seemed ok on the camera screen, but when I zoom in on comp screen, it's very obvious tt one person is sharper than the other. Is it possible to manually select 2 AF pt on the camera?

You can use a DOF calculator. If you don't have that or not feasible to use one, you can use the DOF preview button on your camera to check (if your camera has this function). The trick is to set the aperture to have enough DOF to cover both persons.
 

Btw, I'm taking kids lah, so they dun hv the patience to let me "move" them ard too much.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... tough when you're dealing with kids.. I think skills are important and no matter how skillful you are a large percentage of the good images you get will come from luck.

What you can do is set up the camera on a tripod and use place markers to focus first, then you know exactly where to place the kids where they will be sharp. Use a remote to release the shutter once you position them and step out of the frame.
 

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Btw, I'm taking kids lah, so they dun hv the patience to let me "move" them ard too much.

Catchlight,
We did a studio shot with u b4 sometime back!!! :)
I see, welcome to ClubSNAP, another mummy happy snapping children's photos. :)

taking photos of children is always a challenge, have to compromise.
 

The easiest way (I'm assuming two kids playing together) is to set them up so that they will naturally line themselves up along the same plane of focus, then use a large aperture while making sure both kids are in focus.

In this approach, finding that interesting thing to get their attention (and line up naturally), as well as establishing (and constantly re-establishing your shooting position) is probably the most challenging aspect.

Be prepared to move around a lot, shoot a lot, and have tons of patience. I've done what you described before. Sometimes lady luck helped and I got the shot in under 5 minutes. Other times, it took 2 to 3 hours to get that ONE shot I love. And sometimes, you just have to try again another day.

Good luck and more importantly HAVE FUN!
 

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