topic Re: R5 Multi-person portrait focusing in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

R5 Multi-person portrait focusing

Jebez — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 03:56:35 GMT

Greetings, I only ever shoot individual portraits but have an upcoming assignment for a three person portrait shoot. How do I set focusing so that all three faces are in focus? Thank you in advance.

Re: R5 Multi-person portrait focusing

shadowsports — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 04:52:13 GMT

Greetings,

We will need more information about your shoot before we can give any advice.

Will your subjects will standing side by said and all be at the same distance from the camera?? +++

Or will some of your subjects be nearer or farther away from the camera? ++

What lens will you be shooting with?

Re: R5 Multi-person portrait focusing

Jebez — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 05:22:54 GMT

Hi Rick,

Thank you for your reply.

I'll have the subjects standing side by side, but I'd also like to have one a bit forward, one in the middle and the other a bit behind.

I'll be using the RF 28mm - 105mm f4.

It would probably be best to shoot at f8 or f16, focus on the middle subject and keep them side by side - unless there's a solution to being able to separate them a bit front to back.

Jerry

Re: R5 Multi-person portrait focusing

rs-eos — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 12:33:10 GMT

Given that the multiple subject's eyes/face are on a plane and that plane is not parallel to the camera's sensor plane...

One option (perhaps the easiest/best) is to use a deeper depth of field (narrower aperture, shorter focal length and/or moving further from your subjects).

You could also try focus stacking.

Or, by using a tilt-shift lens.

Re: R5 Multi-person portrait focusing

Jebez — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 03:03:53 GMT

Thank you Ricky for your reply and for the advice.

I apologize for my late acknowledgment. I've had to devote the better part of the last week addressing major system conflicts following my update to a new OS.

Re: R5 Multi-person portrait focusing

DYamilette27 — Sat, 21 May 2022 16:26:43 GMT

Hey!
I have the same questions. My sister and I are thinking of going for the M6 ii to autofocus and shoot in 4k. Will we both be sharply focused with eye detection if we are sitting or standing side by side? How many subjects can the DPAF focus on at once?

Re: R5 Multi-person portrait focusing

AIPickles — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 07:14:17 GMT

This isn't really an autofocus issue, it's a depth of field issue. When you're shooting groups you need to choose an aperture narrow enough to create DOF that includes all subjects. This will depend on how many subjects and rows you have. If you have all people in one row on the same plane, you can get away with 5.6 or so. If you have multiple rows, you'll need a smaller aperture. f/11 is a good catch all aperture for groups, so you'll want to have lighting that allows for such.