EOS R6 Mark II Help with AF for Self Portraits

[erins414]

Does anyone on here use this for self-portraits? I could use some help! I am new to mirrorless and have only set my focus and then switched my lens to manual focus while using an intervalometer (not the internal one) to document myself w/my kiddos.

How do I focus by using autofocus on this camera to track me and my kiddos??

I have my camera set up for back button focus (af-on button for BBF) and my “*” button set to turn on eye detection. When I go into my focus area menu, there is no face tracking option showing up for me. I only have whole area and some flexible zones (along with the smaller areas and single point).

I have gone down the internet rabbit hole and feel ever dumber than I did when I started ha! I am probably missing something so little and silly (fingers crossed).

If anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong or how they approach this, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[Tronhard · Accepted solution]

Hi Erin and welcome to the forum:

For this to work you need a remote, but the problem is that it will not operate with BBF. 

I normally use BBF myself, and can confirm it will not work with that setup. So, I turned the shutter button back to focus again and saved that to one of the C# settings, along with eye focus. Then I returned the default mode back to BBF. When I turned the Mode dial to that C# mode, the remote works fine - either with a cable or a remote wireless system. So, thereafter you have a preconfigured self-portrait setup.

[erins414]

TREVOR!!! Thank you! 
A custom dial setting to keep the shutter button as focus and meter is the perfect solution! I did not realize that my setup would not allow me to focus. 
Thank you for being generous with your time and knowledge! 

Would you then just set it to track focus detecting people (and maybe turn on eye detection) and hop in the frame to test it out? Or maybe flip the screen to tap the focus square on us in order to tell the camera who it is expected to track?

Im completely taking advantage now with the hand holding haha! I’m at work now away from my camera and am excited to start testing this out. Thank you for putting an end to my frustration. I only used single point BBF with my DSLR and I have so much to learn!

[Tronhard]

If you have human eye tracking turned on, the shutter button reconfigured to focus, and that all assigned to, say C3, then you reset all of the parameters you want in your default mode, but when you turn the dial to C3, point it at yourself and family and use a remote release - cable or wireless (tested both), you should get a sharp image with focus your eyes- you may have to set a deep DoF if you have others gathered around you.
Absolutely, I would recommend trying out the setup yourself, and you can take shots of course - they don't cost you anything, but you can also check lighting and DoF then.

[erins414]

Perfect, thank you Trevor!