Baseball field and netting! - How to shoot through it

[Tintype_18]

I have taken good photos while putting the lens in line of an opening in the safety net. I can sit in the bleachers and take photos about 10-15 feet from the netting. However, the netting shows up. Tried a bunch of settings in manual (speed, aperture, etc. for DOF) but nothing worked. Thought I would ask for the expertise and experience of the community. Edit: used the 28-135 lens.

[normadel]

Is the camera focusing on the netting instead of what's behind it?  How close is the netting to the desired subject?

Depth of field is the issue here. A larger aperture will give you less of it, so focusing on the subject is more likely to have the netting be out of focus enough that you can't see it. But the closer the subject is to the netting, the tougher it will be to differentiate the two.

[kvbarkley]

Paradoxically, you want to be as close to the netting as possible, and use the longest focal length you have.

[Tintype_18]

The netting is at the edge of the field, many feet from the pitcher (my grandson). I did get some good photos by sticking the lens up to an opening in the net. Just wondering if I can sit in the bleachers and take photos. I did play with setting to get DOF or at least I hoped. Didn't get a chance to more, though. Thanks to all.

[Tronhard · Accepted solution]

As my colleagues have said your issue is one where the lens allows the camera to 'see' the netting, which is not so much Depth of Field but Minimum Focusing Distance.
The thing is that every lens has a Minimum Focusing Distance, within which an object is not focused on by the lens and thus not recorded by the camera. Usually that MFD is greater the longer the lens focal length.   So, if you want to make the netting not appear in your image you need to use a combination of a longer lens focal length, used WITHIN the minimum focusing distance to the fence, so that the netting is not picked up.
The minimum focusing distance for the EF-S 18-135mm lens is 0.39m (about 16"), so you would have to get up close and personal to the net to be within that range.  On the other hand, the minimum focusing distance for the Sigma 150-600c is 2.80m (9' approx.) and might be more suitable for that environment.  Your challenge then is to get your subject within your Field of View.
A female tiger shot through a wire fence
Vernon Chalmers Photography: Understanding Lens Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD)

[kvbarkley]

The MFD is simply the limit of travel for the focusing optics, and means nothing when focused at further distances. It is all depth of field from there.

[Tronhard]

John's issue was that he was shooting with a relatively short FL lens some distance from the net, and thus my response was correct that his issue is MFD.  If you look at his distance to the net: 10-15', and the MFD for his lens: between 16" and 9', he was outside the MFD to the net, so it was going to be captured.

FWIW, I use this definition for MFD:
"The minimum focusing distance of a lens refers to the closest distance at which a lens can focus and still form a sharp image on the camera sensor or film. It's the minimum distance between the subject being photographed and the camera sensor when the subject is in focus."   I would suggest that the limit of travel of the lens may well have an impact, but the actual configuration of the lenses (i.e. element shapes) is also going to be significant.

If, after that, he has focusing issues with his subject specifically, rather than the net, I agree that is going to be a DoF issue, as my diagram and example hopefully demonstrate.  In that the diagram seeks to explain why the intervening fence is not seen in the image and the tiger's face is sharp but the background is out of focus.

My reference to FoV is to consider the impact of shooting with a significantly longer focal length lens, and thus narrower FoV, to capture the subject, depending on the distance to the subject - which I don't really know.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

When I'm shooting through netting or fencing, I stand as close as possible to the obstruction and zoom in as far as possible on my subject.  (what kvbarkley stated)  You can typically still use autofocus.  If not then manual focus. 

To put it into perspective:

Done wrong

Done right

Bella

[Tintype_18]

Thanks as this will come in handy in the future. Three grandsons in baseball; two college, one MiLB.