Question about focusing a 4-months old

Hi all,

I was trying to shoot my 4months old at F2.8 earlier and I realize that I have problem focusing her as she keeps moving while her mommy is already holding her.

I tried to focus on her eye and recompose and take the shoot, but most of the shot her eye and face are not sharp, it would be something else being sharp. I know I can solve this by shooting at a smaller aperture but lets say if I want to keep it F2.8 or even lower, any tips/tricks that I need to know to get a sharp(eyes and face) picture?

Thanks.

Example:

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Have you tried using a focus point other than the center focus point, or letting the camera decide what to focus on? If you're shooting with a small DOF, the focus, recompose, shoot approach is going to give you a lot of error, particularly with a moving subject. The camera will try to guess what you want in focus, but it can't do as well as you can when you select an off center focus point manually.

You focus is on the baby shocks! Try to use center focus!

MinhThien wrote in post #7314009
You focus is on the baby shocks! Try to use center focus!

Agree, focus on the eyes. Center AF or closest AF point should work fine. I never had any problems with focus/recompose.

looks to me like the focus fell on the hand...

try to focus on the eye thats closer to you!

Hi all, thanks for all your replies, believe me or not, I have been using the center point focus and focus on the eyes then recompose, but i realized that when I am shooting at F1.8 and F2.8, because my child is moving back and forth, sometimes the focus are off, thats why sometimes I think shooting at F5.6 is safer but I can't no longer get the bokeh. This is why I am asking the original question to see if there is any better tips/technique to tackle this problem.

What's your shutterspeed?

I never shoot babies and kids under 125 and if lighting allows I prefer even higher then that!

Focus-recompose sucks. Don't do that. Using a focus point that covers what you want in focus works better. That's why they're there. AI Servo helps sometimes, but usually it's better to skip the bokeh and prioritize focus. Save the bokeh for when she's 2 years old and posing.

iamdogdog wrote in post #7338995
Hi all, thanks for all your replies, believe me or not, I have been using the center point focus and focus on the eyes then recompose, but i realized that when I am shooting at F1.8 and F2.8, because my child is moving back and forth, sometimes the focus are off, thats why sometimes I think shooting at F5.6 is safer but I can't no longer get the bokeh. This is why I am asking the original question to see if there is any better tips/technique to tackle this problem.

Try to use the AF point closer to the eye then.

cdifoto wrote in post #7339030
Focus-recompose sucks. Don't do that.

Too general statement. Lot depends on distance between camera to subject disatnce and where you wanted to focus and where you actually did the focus.

How about "focus-recompose sucks when dealing with a moving subject."

Seriously though, using off center focus points can go along way towards eliminating the need for focus-recompose, and can also eliminate all the potential risks it entails.

bobbyz wrote in post #7339109
Too general statement. Lot depends on distance between camera to subject disatnce and where you wanted to focus and where you actually did the focus.

Yeah. You can sometimes get away with it. But why bother? Don't tell me speed. It takes approximately the same amount of time to focus-recompose as it does to choose a better focus point. Don't tell me precision of the center point either. If you can get away with focus-recompose, you can get away with slight inaccuracy from the outer points.

There is no way your baby is moving 8 or 10 inches back and forth while sitting like that. The focus here is clearly on the boots and the woman's knees and not anywhere near the child's face. You have other issues here other than slight baby movement, whether that be your focus/recompose technique or your lens is heavily front-focused.

Do you get sharp photos at 2.8 if you do not recompose? Leave the composition centered with the eyes dead set in the middle AF point, shoot it, and see if the eyes are sharp.

Then repeat the test leaving the eyes in the top 1/3rd of the frame, use the upper AF point, DO NOT recompose, shoot it, and see if it is sharp.

Then repeat recomposing and see if that is the issue.

Hoff, have you ever photographed a baby? They can seriously kick, squirm, and buck! I could see her sitting upright over her legs and then jerking back in an instant. It happens. A lot.

iamdogdog wrote in post #7338995
Hi all, thanks for all your replies, believe me or not, I have been using the center point focus and focus on the eyes then recompose, but i realized that when I am shooting at F1.8 and F2.8, because my child is moving back and forth, sometimes the focus are off, thats why sometimes I think shooting at F5.6 is safer but I can't no longer get the bokeh. This is why I am asking the original question to see if there is any better tips/technique to tackle this problem.

Focus recompose at large aperture is not very good at all!

You move the camera after you focus and you are completely changing the focal plane.

Use an appropriate focus point (not necessarily the centre)

PS as said above, Your focus is on the knees.... nowhere near the baby - practice focusing and it might help using the back * button as your focus button. Press to focus and release to lock.