Group/Couple Picture Help

[93octane]

I have a big question regarding photographing more then one person. With one person I can set the focus point at their eyes set the F stop 2.8-3.5 to get a good DOF and I'm done. My question is when photography 2 or more persons where do I focus in between them do I want that to be my focus point??? If I do multi-point focus and the right of left focus point light up is one side going to be more focused then the other??? If take a picture of 2 or more persons what should I do so that both or all 3 persons come out focused???

[tim]

You could use multi-point focus if the focus points fall in the right place, or you could use focus-recompose. Alternately use single non-centre point focus. Also use more like F5.6 - F8 so you get everyone into the picture.

[Maureen Souza]

I did a wedding party of 16 last weekend.... used f 8.0 and focus-recompose... plus a wide angle lens. Worked just fine!

[93octane]

Thanks for the help what exactly is focus recompose???

[robertwgross]

Thanks for the help what exactly is focus recompose???

Set your camera for single shot operation.
Point at subject number 1 and get autofocus lock when you half-press the button. Then hold it in half-press and re-aim the camera to get bothy subjects number 1 and 2. Then continue the half-press and do a full-press without letting up.

---Bob Gross---

[93octane]

autofocus lock is the little * button right??

[robertwgross]

autofocus lock is the little * button right??

It depends on what kind of camera you use.

On a stock 20D with no custom functions set, just half-pressing and holding the shutter button will start it.

Doesn't anybody ever keep the user manual anymore?

---Bob Gross---

[J Rabin]

Depends on 93Octane's camera body.

This is a set "f/8 and who cares" exposure situation. But, beware FLR.
With Canon E-TTL, FLR (focus-lock-recompose) is a well-established recipe for poor, inconsistent flash exposure performance. Due to weighting the exposure to active focus point.
The important change in camera bodies with E-TTL II flash is no longer weighting the flash exposure to the active point, so folks can go back to FLR.

I broke my old FLR habit and will not go back, even with E-TTL II.
J

[Merle]

When shooting deep groups (2-3 rows of people) I use an f-stop of f8 or above remember general rule of thumb is for total depth of field. 1/3 in front of your focus point and 2/3 behind will be in focus and of course your f stop will determine the in focus depth. If shooting reunions with 4-5 rows of people I will attempt f11 or f22 and focus on the a person in the second row. If I'm shooting something like a mother with a baby on her lap and the father posed close behind the mother then I would shoot at f8 or f11 and focus on the mothers eye ball.
For me I general start at f11 and very from there depending on my circumstances, I.E. (do I want to show background environment or do I wish to have background go out of focus like a painted canvas background. ;) :) :D

Good Shooting to Ya !!
Merle

[d'homme]

Also remember if they are in the same plane, it would be the same and shooting one person. Also remember DOF increases with your distance from the subject.

[Curtis N]

Doesn't anybody ever keep the user manual anymore?I always keep my canon instruction manual in my bag. It comes in handy for when I'm shooting wildlife out in the wilderness and I need something to substitute for toilet paper.

Its usefulness for anything else is pretty limited.