Maybe some help on group shots?

DI-Joe

So I feel I'm a decent photographer but I think one area I could use a bit of help in is group shots where folks tend not to be on the same focal plane. Is the solution just to stop down my lens and widen my depth of field or do I have them move into a nice plane? hahah. The more people the bigger the PITA it turns out to be.

What do you all normally do when dealing with group shots such as those you'd often find at Weddings? For the most part, I've gotten by by getting lucky and fixing some in photoshop using Focus Magic layers but that's a pain as well and I'd rather just get it right in-camera and not tool around unecessarily in photoshop.

What's the standard? Is there one? Am I the only one that has problems with groups and keeping everyone in focus when they're layered up(more than one row)?

ziggy53

Yes, it's a potential problem that needs to be addressed by being understood.

It's all about the DOF and that can vary according to the way the group is composed, as well as the number in the group.

As a general rule, I tend to use f4 for formals of one or two rows of individuals, but I will also use f5.6 for two rows of any breadth.

For groups with 3 or more rows I try to gain some height to help reduce the DOF required by getting me closer to the "plane" of heads. This tactic of height also helps seperate the heads somewhat, but complicates lighting and stands. Still you might need f8 or even f11 for deep compositions.

It is always better to use whatever f setting is required to achieve sharpness through the group so test with just a couple of people strategically placed and manual focus first before you start working with the group. (If you can achieve the extremes, the in-betweens will also be sharp.)

It won't take long before you develop a working knowlege of the aperture requirements for your own style of shooting.

DI-Joe

Sweet, that's pretty much what I thought, but I just wondered if there was any other formula. What you gave me is a good starting point and some great info. Thank a lot. I think I might practice with some baloons.

Scott_Quier

Yes, you will need to pay attention to the aperture and the subject to camera distance. It's all about understanding hyperfocal distances. DOFMaster has a pretty good write-up of it here.

With that understanding, you come to realize that 1/3 of your hyperfocal distance is between the camera and your point of critical focus and the balance (2/3) is beyond your point of critical focus.

If you have a Palm PDA, a Windows laptop, iPhone, or iPod you can get a copy of the DOFMaster calculator to help you ensure that you have it all mapped out. This is useful because, with the advent of AF (I think), many newer lenses don't have the hyperfocal markings on the lens barrel.

If you use the DOFMaster calculator, be sure that the circle of confusion factor is correct as it varies from one format to another. There's a list of such factors here.

evoryware

Also the standard is to use a normal lens and not go wide so you don't end up with big heads up front and pea sized heads in back.

rwells

Joe,

I see that you have a 5D & 30D. I have the same pair.


What I found immediately apparent when I got the 5D was how much different the DOF is for a given distance, lens, etc. than on the 1.6 crop 30D body. As a matter of fact, I've got to do some serious testing to get a grip on this.

So, whatever you decide works for your 30D will be different when using your 5D, depending on the particulars of course.

DI-Joe

rwells wrote:

Joe,

I see that you have a 5D & 30D. I have the same pair.


What I found immediately apparent when I got the 5D was how much different the DOF is for a given distance, lens, etc. than on the 1.6 crop 30D body. As a matter of fact, I've got to do some serious testing to get a grip on this.

So, whatever you decide works for your 30D will be different when using your 5D, depending on the particulars of course.

Yeah, I do understand the differences. I prefer using the 5D for portraits anyway, so let's not even consider the 30D. lol That's probably on it's way out and a 1Ds will probably be moving in.