Group Photogarphs Focussing Technique

[J R Mohan]

Please tell me about the focusing point in a typical group photo session where some are sitting in the chairs in the front and the rest standing behind.
Whee to focus in such shots ? In the eyes of the person sitting in the chair middle in front or the person just standing behind him!
Thanks.
jai.

[tonylong]

Focusing on someone "in the middle of the middle row" is fine. What you want is a workable aperture so that everyone in front is in acceptable focus as is everyone behind, so having your focus point "in between" gives that the best shot, and then an aperture of say f/8 to get a pretty wide range.

[cacawcacaw]

No practical experience here but I'm going to take a guess - the photo will be more appealing with the front row in perfect focus than it would be with the back row in perfect focus.

[jra]

Originally Posted by tonylong

Focusing on someone "in the middle of the middle row" is fine. What you want is a workable aperture so that everyone in front is in acceptable focus as is everyone behind, so having your focus point "in between" gives that the best shot, and then an aperture of say f/8 to get a pretty wide range.

+1 as mentioned, I pick an aperture that will yield an acceptable DOF....from there, I'll find a point midway into the group to focus on. Works every single time if done correctly

[cacawcacaw]

Originally Posted by kjonnnn

If you focus on only the front row, depending on the aperture, you're wasting the depth of field that is in front of your point of focus. For example, if you're on a crop, with a 35mm lens at 20 feet, at F5.6, you've got roughly 4 feet of depth of field IN FRONT of your point of focus.

Yeah, I considered that. But, if DOF is wide enough to still cover the back row, wouldn't it be better to have the front row eyes in perfect focus? I only came up with this thought because I thought it would look uncomfortable to have the back row more sharply focused than the front row.

Edit: Did a search and found this discussion where one guy says to focus on the front row and another person says to focus so that 1/3 is in front of the focal point and 2/3 behind.

[cacawcacaw]

Originally Posted by kjonnnn

Old school theory was focus 1/3 in. Plus if you have back focus issues, focusing on the front row my be a miss. In the end, do what works best for you...

I guess there are probably several different "rules of thumb" for this. Another person said to pick an arbitrary subject (the teacher, the bride, a cute kid, someone with a different pose than the others, etc.) and focus on them. I guess that's what separates the professionals from the amateurs. I would just have to take a million shots and see which one looks best, while you probably have good instincts regarding what aperture/shutter/ISO speed you can get away with.

Reading about indoor sports photography, a few people said that it's important to get the shutter speed you need to freeze movement, even if it means a wide aperture and a very high ISO. Is there a similar concept in group portrait work, where you'll try to stick to a small aperture even if it means using a high ISO and slow shutter?

Do any of you guys ever tell the group to hold perfectly still so that you can use a slower shutter speed to get a narrower aperture?

[eerfmaps]

Originally Posted by cacawcacaw

Is there a similar concept in group portrait work, where you'll try to stick to a small aperture even if it means using a high ISO and slow shutter?

Do any of you guys ever tell the group to hold perfectly still so that you can use a slower shutter speed to get a narrower aperture?

If you know the setting you'll be in, you can get an idea of what range you'll be shooting from. Check out this site to get an idea of how much you can get in focus with a particular focal length and aperture. There's not one single aperture that's best for all group shots, you just need to get an idea of what will work for you in any given setting. And as far as asking people to hold still... it's hard enough to get everyone to keep their eyes open! You can certainly try it, but the larger the group, the harder that type of thing is.