Recommendations please for setting up focal points on my D850

[Pawzitiveart]

Hi everyone
i have a D850 and I have only had it for 5 months. I am thoroughly enjoying learning all its features but I have specific question for an upcoming fun shoot i am doing . It’s just with my dogs to give me more practice but my question is if I have 3 dogs set up outside all sitting facing me , to get sharp images would I set my focal points to dynamic 9 or GrP or would you have other suggestions ?
thanks !

 

[DRwyoming]

Hi everyone
i have a D850 and I have only had it for 5 months. I am thoroughly enjoying learning all its features but I have specific question for an upcoming fun shoot i am doing . It’s just with my dogs to give me more practice but my question is if I have 3 dogs set up outside all sitting facing me , to get sharp images would I set my focal points to dynamic 9 or GrP or would you have other suggestions ?
thanks !

To keep multiple subjects sharp in your photos the key is sufficient Depth of Field (DoF) that comes from a combination of sufficiently small aperture (high enough f/stop) and the distance from your subjects/image size as well as how your multiple subjects are arranged in the image. The choice of focus area mode only helps you ensure that one of your subjects is sharp, it doesn't do anything in terms of ensuring that all of your subjects are sharp.

IOW, if you can get single point or one of the dynamic area modes or group AF, an auto area mode or even manual focus to select one of your subjects that's really all you can ask for from the AF system. Once you've got one sharp subject the key to getting multiple sharp subjects isn't related to the AF area mode chosen, at that point it comes down to having sufficient DoF for the alignment of your subjects. If all your subjects are side by side and basically all the same distance from your camera then it's pretty easy and you might not need to stop the lens down at all to keep all sets of eyes sharp. But if some of your subjects are close to the camera and others are farther away you'll generally need to stop the lens down a bit to hold the closest and farthest subjects in crisp focus. If some are very close and others are very far away it might not be possible to keep them all in focus even with the lens stopped way down but that depends on the specific situation, the focal length of the lens, how much distance difference you're talking about, etc.

Choosing different AF area modes can make it easier for the AF system to lock that initial subject in good focus but does nothing in terms of adding DoF. Basically if you can reliably keep your selected AF point over the part of your subject you want crisp (e.g. the eyes) then that will work as well as any other AF area mode. But with moving subjects that can be hard and that's where things like dynamic area modes or group AF mode come into play. They're basically there to help you out when it's tough keeping a single AF point right on your target which can be a big challenge with fast moving or erratically moving subjects.

So use whatever AF area mode you need to get your chosen subject in sharp focus and then use a small enough aperture (high enough f/stop) to keep multiple subjects in decent focus. Exactly what f/stop to use depends on the scene, the subject distances and the lens in use so no easy answer there but practice and experiment knowing that higher f/stops give you more DoF and that's the key to keeping multiple subjects sharp.

 

[gbodave]

Distance from the camera to the point of focus is frequently the easiest and most effective way to increase depth of field. Increasing the F number is certainly an option but that means there is a likelihood of adjusting shutter speed and/or ISO at the same time to maintain a balanced exposure. You may not want to change those settings. By increasing the distance from the camera to the subject(s) you won't have to.

To more easily visualise how DOF will work for the arrangement of the dogs, get hold of a DOF calculator like PhotoPills. Just a few minutes of entering F number, focal length and distance will make things much easier to understand. This will also illustrate that you don't always have to focus on the foremost subject of a staggered threesome. Because DOF, or as I prefer to call it, the sharp area, extends in front of and behind the point of focus.

Theoretically it doesn't matter how far apart the dogs are staggered, there will be a combination of settings that keep them all in focus.

 

[Thern]

Like DRW says it boils down to ‘enough DOF’ how much is up to you.
I’ve seen pics of three dogs of the same breed sitting behind each other and photograped with different depth of field, or with the background/surroundings in focus or completely isolated from the background.
That’s your own artistical pov.

There are off course apps which can calculate the resulting DOF from distance to subject and set aperture for a given camera, but it’s much easier to use the Pv1 button on your D850. (Only if you didn’t customize it)
Pushing it will close the aperture to the set fstop and ‘reveal’ the DOF when looking through the viewfinder.
At http://dofmaster.com/ you can download an app to calculate DOF.

Have fun! Dogs are a lot of fun to shoot.

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