Large depth of field - where to focus?

[musicman31]

Hello people, I was wanting a bit of advice on depth of field please!

Up until a couple of months ago, I'd only ever used compact point and shoot cameras, and I felt that after my travels to Australia that I'd pretty much taken my photography as far as I could, so I invested in a 40D :)

Now, I understand about depth of field and how aperture affects it, but I'm wondering where should I be aiming when using auto focus? For example, if I want to shoot a big landscape, but also want to include some rocks or whatever in the foreground, then do I focus on the rocks with a small aperture, or do I focus off in the distance with a small aperture?

Any tips appreciated, thanks!

[FlyingPhotog]

Set your focus 1/3 of the way into the frame.

[12mnkys]

I am sure there are many more people on here who can answer this better than I, but here is what I try and do... I use a smaller aperture f/8 - f/16 depending on how near and far the near and far objects are...if that makes sense...

by using smaller apertures, you will have greater DOF which will allow more of the scene to be sharp and in focus...obviously you are going to be constrained by your lighting conditions and what you are trying to achieve.

In terms of focus point for landscapes, I usually, but not always, select center point focus. Hope this helps.

MK

[musicman31]

Thanks, I'll give it a try at 1/3 of the way

[ibdb]

The third of the way into the scene guideline is a good one, but to learn more, try looking for a depth of field calculator. A search of this forum or a google search will turn up quite a few to choose from.

With that, you can get an idea of what kind of depth of field your camera, lens, and subject can provide. There are times shooting with my 10-22 on a 20D that even at f/8, it doesn't matter where I focus, as I'll have enough DOF to cover the entire scene and then some anyhow.

[12mnkys]

The third of the way into the scene guideline is a good one, but to learn more, try looking for a depth of field calculator. A search of this forum or a google search will turn up quite a few to choose from.

With that, you can get an idea of what kind of depth of field your camera, lens, and subject can provide. There are times shooting with my 10-22 on a 20D that even at f/8, it doesn't matter where I focus, as I'll have enough DOF to cover the entire scene and then some anyhow.

thanks for clearing up my point! :D

[highbarger]

The third of the way into the scene guideline is a good one, but to learn more, try looking for a depth of field calculator.

Here is a good one (http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html). Easy to use.

[Bumgardnern]

Focus on what you want to be in focus. In the situation that you listed you ask do I focus on the rock or the background. Well do you want the rock in sharp focus, do you want it all in focus or do you want just the back ground in focus. Decide that first. Once you have decided pick a focus point. Depending on exactly what you want in focus will allow you to decide what aperture will allow you to achieve the results that you want. You also might consider reading an article on large format photography focusing like this one http://www.largeformatphotography.info/how-to-focus.htm (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/how-to-focus.html)l. While an article like this will not be completely revenant it will be well worth your time reading it.