Correct aperture setting for portrait?

[chris_shawn]

I hope I am right in this category. I have a question about "portrait

photography". I took a photo and it turned out that I have the nose

in perfect focus but I'd prefer the eyes to be in perfect focus.

 

I photographed with Canon EF50/1.4 and the photo was taken at f/1.4.

I assume it would have been better with 5.6 or something for a better

depth of field. Am I right? And what setting can be recommended for

portraits (I know it depends on several things such as light source,

etc.)?

 

Thanks a lot!<div></div>

[peter_evans4]

I take your word for it that the nose is better focussed than the eyes: at this magnification, it's hard to tell.

 

Yes, if all other things had been equal, the eyes would have been in focus at f5.6. The problem is that the background would have been better focused as well, and thus more distracting. For something like this, I'd normally use something between f2 and f2.8.

 

Of course f1.4 is better still, if you get (or the autofocus gets) it right, but chances of failure are higher. As an extreme, I have an 85/1.2 lens (not EF): when the gods are smiling on me it's wonderful, but it does bring a lot of duds.

[alan_chan4]

I think it's a focus issue, or AF I suspect. Correctly focused on the closest eye is the key. As to aperture, I often prefer f4, but there is no rigid rule.

[cliff_shone1]

I'm not sure that there is a 'correct' aperture for portraits, it's a matter of personal taste. I always focus on the eyes and for me a bit of softness on the other features, such as the nose, is tolerable. If you want everything sharp by all means use larger apertures, but make sure that the background is not distracting.

[chris_shawn]

Thank you so much! I was afraid, that my question sounded very stupid. Thanks again.

 

Yes, probably manual focus (to the closest eye) would have been a solution. I'll try next time. And I'll also try another stop next time. If the background was a litte less blury it still didn't matter I think.

 

Thanks a lot!

[jan_jarczyk]

i think it depends how close you are the closer the shorter DOF, i think there is no DOF problem but focusing problem ? you can turn of AF and try manually focus wherever you want to - <a href=http://fotografia.interklasa.pl/zdjecia/4506-20050804234928.jpg>100mm macro at F2.8 the nose is out off focus the ears too but EYES!</a><br>regards Jan

[mark u]

Focus technique in a situation like this is critical. For one thing, when depth of field is narrow you can't afford to focus and recompose. That can make things difficult if you don't have a focus point that conveniently covers the point you want to be in sharpest focus. Obviously, it's a situation where 45 point AF and ECF (as on the EOS 3) is ideal. MF is the other solution, but that can be very tricky with the small viewfinder image in a 1.6 crop camera.

[paul_chilton2]

If you are using very wide apertures use autofocus only to get you close to the focus you want, then focus manually the rest of the way to get the eyes pin sharp. If you rely on autofocus to get sharp eyes for you you will fail more times than you succeed. Autofocus tends to be attracted to whatever is nearest to the camera, in this case the tip of the nose, not the eyes.

[jim_larson1]

Yes. . .be sure that YOU and not the camera are choosing the focus point.

 

Focus-recompose will typically result in back-focus in most instances. . .you need to have the focus point on the eye to make this work.

 

Using MF is fine. . but good luck if your body is a 300/350/20D/10D type camera. These viewfinders are not terribly bright for this kind of work.

 

Also. . .the 300/350D/20D/10D af points are not exactly small. They actually cover about 2.5 times the area shown on the viewfinder engravings (!). Evil. . isn't it?

 

Don't be afraid to take multiple shots to try and get it right. refocus each time. Maybe try F2.2. DO NOT try F5.6 -> as others have said, that is a GROUP SHOT aperture, not a portrait aperture.

[potok]

from the image it is imposible to say how far was she from the camera, so knowing that

one, and the size of her nose and ears, simply go here and calculate

 

http://photoinf.com/Tools/Don_Fleming/Depth_Of_Filed_Calculator.html

[jon_austin]

Your questions have been more than adequately addressed by the above answers. I'd just like to comment that, although the pose isn't all that flattering, nor the composition all that creative, I love your model's hair.

[jean_berthe]

Chris

 

From what I can see, her nose is located at the center of the frame, where most AF cameras will favor the center AF point. I mostly use a EOS3 (set in Av)for portait and always manually select the AF point over the eye(s), do not re-compose, lock the AF (CF-4) then take the picture.

 

F1.4 is good for square posture, but I can go as far as f3.4/f4 for almost profile shots. I rarely take only one shot, I usually take two to four shots, at different apperture and different compensation if there is a lot of white or dark in the frame.

 

Practice and take notes. It will come to you.

 

Good luck

[pete_appleby]

As already said, there is no "correct" aperture for portraits and it really depends on the look you are trying to achieve. I use a 50mm 1.8 Nikon for most of mine, and tend to set F4 for portraits and F8 for group shots. I find these to be the sharpest.

[terence_mccauley]

What about full body studio shots? I want everything in focus from the eyes to the shoes. f/4 maybe? f/8?