24 T/S Lens Tilt function for Architecture

I want to image a collonade and keep all the columns in focus down the line, from the closest to the farthest. I understand the idea of tilting the lens to the left will align it with the collonade that's on the left, as if it were face-on.

But I don't know what f/stop to use...f/16 or more, and where to focus. Do I use a hyperfocal point as I would with a standard long shot to get near and far in focus?

This might help,I must admit I struggled with the tilt when I hired one.

http://www.cambridgein​colour.com …ls/tilt-shift-lenses2.htm

f/8 or f/11 is the sweet spot for this lens. If you're tilting the focal plane to get the columns in perfect focus then the aperture shouldn't matter too much. But, I never tilt for architecture. Shifting to maintain perfect verticals and focusing about 1/3 into the scene is generally optimal for me. Tilting, from my experience, keeps everything in the focal plane in perfect focus, but exaggerates out of focus areas, which isn't desirable for most architectural photos imo.

When tilted to get the effect you're after, the aperture will simply control how much of the scene is in focus as you move away from that focus plane, i.e. the plane of the pillars. At maximum aperture, not much apart from the pillars will be in focus (but progressively more as distance from the lens increases), whereas if you close down then most of the scene will become sharp - just that the pillars will be the sharpest points.

David Arbogast wrote in post #14723845
f/8 or f/11 is the sweet spot for this lens. If you're tilting the focal plane to get the columns in perfect focus then the aperture shouldn't matter too much. But, I never tilt for architecture. Shifting to maintain perfect verticals and focusing about 1/3 into the scene is generally optimal for me. Tilting, from my experience, keeps everything in the focal plane in perfect focus, but exaggerates out of focus areas, which isn't desirable for most architectural photos imo.

Plus one. The shift function is all I really use unless I need to change the focal plane.