Focus is one of the most common and frustrating problems we face as photographers and one of the worst problems to solve. You don’t know how many great images ended up in the trash due to a focus problem.
Porque no solo es un problema común, también es de los que tiene peor solución. Por ello, porque sé que te lleva tan de cabeza como a mí en su momento, quiero compartir contigo los errores más frecuentes que he cometido con el enfoque.
- But most of all I’m going to share with you how I solved them.
- I hope my advice will help you avoid as much frustration as possible of a poorly focused photo?.
Right now, you may have had the brightest goal you can afford.Congratulations, good decision. And since you have this super opening of f/1.4 of/1.8, how can you not use it anytime and for every occasion?
Well, as you know, the aperture of the diaphragm is related to depth of field, or what is identical, to the area focused on the image.
The more we open the diaphragm, the less focused the image area is, so working with very wide diaphragms makes tuning difficult.
Do not work with full openness unless you need it and are fully aware of it.In other words, do not take default photos af / 1.4.The approach poses many problems for these values.Also, remember that the maximum sharpness of each lens is never found in the extreme values of the aperture.So much more;).
Now, if you need light, if you want an extremely blurry background and you are in a situation where you can clearly control the focus, then go ahead, nothing prevents you from reducing the brightness of your lens.
Another of the most common focus problems we usually do is focus our approach and then slightly vary the frame to compose, this is surely because we have a specific area as a focus area, usually the central area, which is the one that tends to detect contrast better.
While this may seem like minimal movement, the truth is that varying the framing produces what we call a paralage error and that, when we work with large openings, it gives us a very clear focus error.
Use a focus mode suitable for each occasion so you don’t have to crop, you can take a look at this article where at the time I was explaining how to set the focus of your camera based on the photos we want to take.
And, as in the previous case, if you have to do it because you can’t do it any other way, remember that the more you close the diaphragm, the more likely you are that the area will appear well focused on the image.
Another scene that turns us upside down is one in which the light is dim.We tend to rely much more on autofocus than on our manual focus capabilities.And there we can stay an hour, focus forward, focus backwards, on an endless search for attention.
If there’s no light, look for one: you can turn on the built-in help light or light up the scene with your phone’s flashlight until you get focus.Once done, so you don’t lose it, you put the camera in manual and that’s it.
If manual focus is right for you and you need speed, try focusing manually directly..
I don’t know if you know that each lens has a minimum focus distance and that underneath it can’t focus properly.The more angular our target is, the smaller the distance and the greater the distance.
Find out what this minimum distance is. In the focus ring, you usually find the minimum aiming distance marked, so you can fine-tune it.If you can’t find it, read your target specifications to find out.
It sounds silly, but it can play a bad trick on us, we think we’ve focused on what we wanted perfectly, but the focus is right behind where we wanted it.A total disaster.
Another thing I learned through many mistakes is to pay special attention to the focus on the look on portraits, although not all images should focus on the eyes, I learned that if not, it requires an explanation.
Because for me, the lack of focus on the eyes is one of the most annoying focus problems.
Let me explain, the look in a portrait is everything, I’ve learned it over time.Several times it carries the weight of the strength of that portrait in question, which is not directed requires, as I said, an explanation, that is, a motive, a purpose, that you want to highlight something in particular, a loop., the delicacy of the lobe of the ear, etc.
If there’s no other reason, always focus on your eyes
If you really like portraiture you may want to work with a single point focus area, this is how I do it. This is the most accurate, even if it forces you to decide at any time when the focus is placed.
I know we’re lazy to ruminate the way our cameras are operating, but I assure you, this is a task that doesn’t fall into a broken sack.
You’ll probably find that your camera is doing things you couldn’t imagine, including being able to decide whether to prioritize the camera that takes the photo when you press the shutter button, or that it only does so when you’ve selected the focus.
In other words, if you want focus or shooting priority
Don’t just set your camera’s priorities and forget about them, the best thing you can do is learn how to search for them based on the type of photo you’re taking right now.
There will be times when a focus priority will be the most appropriate: macro photography, portraiture, landscape …but others in which the importance of the image will overcome the accuracy of the focus: sports, concerts, street photography, etc.
Especially in our first adventures in landscape photography or similar, our approach is usually: “If I close the diaphragm, I get the largest area focused on the image and what I want in the landscapes, it is precisely that, because I close as much as possible.”
This makes sense and, although it is not a problem of focus as such, it has to do with sharpness. Lenses never offer the best quality at the ends of the diaphragm.
To obtain the largest focus area of the image without losing sharpness, it is necessary to resort to the hyperfocal distance combined with the optimal point of the lens.
En fotografía hay un montón de normas, reglas y trucos. A veces tienes la cabeza como un bombo con todas ellas navegando por tu cabeza. Igual que cuando estudiabas para un examen de matemáticas pero no te lo sabías demasiado bien, y tenías todas esas fórmulas vagando por tu cabeza. Todo te sonaba pero no atinabas ;).
Fortunately, we don’t have a test to do, so there’s nothing wrong with simplifying the way we take pictures, especially when we start out.
One of the things I learned was the minimum speed at which I had to work based on the focal length of my lens, if it was 50 mm, I knew I had to shoot about 1/50 s, if it was 24mm, then more than 1/25s.
I followed this rule to the letter, but of course, yes and no, it depends on so many things.And of course, I’m wrong, the photos move everywhere, because yes, this rule works more or less, but it depends on other factors, as if what you’re photographing is static or not and your pulse good or bad?
You learn to be flexible with everything you think you know, there are many things that work, but among so many others, because in photography there are no two equal moments, the light constantly changes, things move, we move even though I do not appreciate it.
Learning to hold the camera properly and keep an eye on everything around us, anticipate movements and not “hurry up” with adjustments unless absolutely necessary, is a tip that has helped me a lot in general.
In other words, if you have enough light, you don’t need to be at 1/60s yf/22, you probably don’t need that depth of field so you can open the diaphragm a few steps and work at a much higher speed.speeds that guarantee a very sharp and concentrated image.
In short, experience is a diploma, and at the end of the day you learn things by taking pictures, looking for mistakes and trying to correct them.At least that’s how I’ve learned photography over the years (and what else can I learn?).
I don’t know if we’ll share bugs or focus issues, I guess some will, so I hope I helped you a little with these tips for focus issues.If you found it interesting, help us spread it so we can continue to create interesting content for you.
Thank you very much, can we read here?