Metering & Focus Question

scottphotography

Just some opinion questions.

1. When shooting several people in a group pic, where do most people aim their focus?
2. Where do most people take their metering from?

Scott_Quier

I've embedded by thoughts...

scottphotography wrote:

Just some opinion questions.

1. When shooting several people in a group pic, where do most people aim their focus? Who's the focus on (no pun intended). On the other hand, if the depth of the group is large and it's a shot where all must be within DOF, then you set the focus 1/3 into the group and set your aperture appropriately. DOFMaster, installed on a PalmPilot, is your friend in these situations.
2. Where do most people take their metering from? Again, what's your subject? If it's a bride and groom, I meter off of either the gown or her face; and if I have time, with an incident meter. If it's a group where getting the faces right is important - meter for proper exposure of the faces, of course. With these, as with portraiture, getting the face right is paramount.

scottphotography

Scott,

• In group photos I normally focus on one person, 1/3 in and shoot. DOF is usually 8-11 in A mode.
• Weddings, yes, I meter off the bride, usually in A exposure mode, sometimes M mode.
• Question: Do you focus and auto exposure lock on bride first then recompose?

Scott_Quier

scottphotography wrote:

Scott,

• In group photos I normally focus on one person, 1/3 in and shoot. DOF is usually 8-11 in A mode.
• Weddings, yes, I meter off the bride, usually in A exposure mode, sometimes M mode.
• Question: Do you focus and auto exposure lock on bride first then recompose?

When I was using on-camera flash, I was usually setting FEC to about +1 and snapping a test shot and then adjust the FEC as necessary to avoid blowing a channel.

But, I've found on-camera flash to be less then consistent. So, when possible, I use off-camera flash especially as I don't have the time or motivation to set the flash manually. And, besides, the off-camera lighting tends to provide much more interesting light than is possible with on-camera flash (I've done it both way and found what I like).

For the group shots after the wedding, I use an incident flash light meter (and PWs for trigger) to set the flash(es). This works well for me as I almost always have time to set up and tear down, especially if I have a second along for the ride.

At the reception, I, again, use off-camera flash. I set the flash power using the flash meter at the position where I think most of the action will take place. Later, as the action moves around the room, I adjust my aperture to compensate for the distance between the subject and the closest flash. Under these conditions, the inverse square law is not all that hard to fudge in your head.