focus problem.

[yuexiachou29]

I've had problem in focusing three subjects that are not on the same focal plane.
Like the drawing below, person 1,2,3 are lined up in 2 rows. I can't get 3 subjects in focus on one image.
If I want to have deeper DOF, I can change the f stop, but in reality it doesn't like that.

What kind of camera movement should I do in order to make these 3 subjects all in focus?

thank you.

My large format camera bible is not with me, otherwise I'd look it up.

thanks.

[Michael Clark]

I assume these people are standing up vertical, you picture has them lying down (horizontal). If persons 2&3 are at the same distance from the camera and person #1 closer and is between the other two there is no movement that can bring them all in the same focus plan. Only using a smaller f stop to increase depth of flied can you get every one in focus.

[yuexiachou29]

"using a smaller f stop"
I tested it out with digital camera and it doesn't seem work out well.
in your experience, how well does using smaller aperture play?

OR i could take 2-3 shots and make sure everybody is covered.
then compose these images together in post?

[Michael Clark]

When I say smaller f stop it means the aperture closes to a smaller opening, which will increase your depth of focus, allowing hopefully all three people to be in focus. All so the sorter the focal length of the lens the more depth of field it will have. Finding a book on basic view camera use would make it more clear than I can explain here.

[Michael Clark]

Sorry yuexiachou, reading your post it seems to me you know what depth of flied is, but with this arrangement of people I would depend on using the smaller F stop to get good focus . I know very little about digital cameras.

[vinny]

Based on your posts, you might want to read the articles here on using a view camera as well as watching some youtube videos. This is very basic stuff that may be hard to comprehend w/o someone demonstrating it.

[ic-racer]

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...-to-focus.html

[Lenny Eiger]

Smaller apertures work very well in large format cameras. It is very different from digital cameras.

My lenses do excellent work all the way to f45. Most digital camera lenses are optimized for the low end and have a fair amount of diffraction going on and you go up the scale... You shouldn't compare them.

Lenny

[tgtaylor]

If your camera is center tilt, then focus on the near (1) and tilt for 2 & 3 - if they are in rows, then the row is equidistant from the lens. That said 3 may be further out than 2 in which case you would stop down for 2. If your camera is base tit, then it would be the opposite of above.

Thomas

[Peter Lewin]

If your camera is center tilt, then focus on the near (1) and tilt for 2 & 3 - if they are in rows, then the row is equidistant from the lens. That said 3 may be further out than 2 in which case you would stop down for 2. If your camera is base tit, then it would be the opposite of above.
Thomas

To add a small proviso to Thomas's suggestion: By using tilt to get the three faces into focus, the focus plane is no longer perpendicular, it is angled, so while the faces may be in focus, the individual's feet or lower torsos will probably be out of focus. No matter how you position the focus plane, you need to shut down (i.e. choose a higher-numbered f-stop) to gain depth-of-field.