# Portrait Photography Question - Autofocus or Manual Focus?



## mrobely (Sep 6, 2016)

Would love to get a professional opinion when shooting models where tripod is not available or when mobility of camera is essential, such as when model is changing poses quickly and there is no fixed focal length.

Is it better to use Autofocus or Manual Focus? I have Canon Rebel t3i, using a Canon kit zoom.

Also just bought a 50mm Prime, but have not used it yet.


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## Designer (Sep 6, 2016)

I'm not a professional, but if your model is changing positions quickly, how can you focus manually and do it accurately?  Meanwhile, your lens can focus in a fraction of a second.


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## mrobely (Sep 6, 2016)

Designer said:


> I'm not a professional, but if your model is changing positions quickly, how can you focus manually and do it accurately?  Meanwhile, your lens can focus in a fraction of a second.



The model does hold the pose at my request and I manually focus which seems to be faster than the camera can autofocus and allows me to focus on specific things, like her eyes. Autofocus seems to leave the eyes fuzzy and focuses on face, at least that is my perception of it.

What looks sharp in the viewer looks fuzzy when I see it on the computer screen later, sometimes, so I am trying to figure out if that is because I am moving camera slightly when I squeeze shutter or it's my vision when I'm focusing.

I use the closeup feature sometimes to double check focus when taking photo and that helps but its not infallible.

Just wondering what setting most studio pros use.

I've seen photos of them working and they never seem to use a tripod.


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## robbins.photo (Sep 6, 2016)

mrobely said:


> Would love to get a professional opinion when shooting models where tripod is not available or when mobility of camera is essential, such as when model is changing poses quickly and there is no fixed focal length.
> 
> Is it better to use Autofocus or Manual Focus? I have Canon Rebel t3i, using a Canon kit zoom.
> 
> Also just bought a 50mm Prime, but have not used it yet.



Ok, well not a portrait photographer but I spend a lot of time shooting subjects that move whenever they please.  So yes, autofocus definitely.  Trick is to understand how your camera's autofocus system works, and take control of it rather than letting it have control of you.

For portrait work you want to focus on the subjects eyes, so on my Nikon I reduce the number of focal points to one and place that on the subjects nearest eye.  Depending on the conditions I might elect to use as many as nine focal points, but I don't usually give the camera the option of picking from all of the focal points available in most situations to avoid the camera choosing one that I didn't want.

In the interest of full disclosure I'm neither a professional photographer or a portrait photographer, just an avid amateur who shoots mostly critters.  But a lot of the basic principles are the same:




20160905_0533 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr


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## tirediron (Sep 6, 2016)

Essentially you're talking about flow-posing.  Regardless, AF is the way to go.  The simple fact is, that today's cameras are not made for manually focusing, and it's very difficult to do with the focusing screens in most cameras.  In the days of the split-prism focusing screen, it was easy to see when you were dead-on focus.  Now?  Not so much.  I can't think of a reason why you would manually focus in the studio.


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## mrobely (Sep 6, 2016)

robbins.photo said:


> mrobely said:
> 
> 
> > Would love to get a professional opinion when shooting models where tripod is not available or when mobility of camera is essential, such as when model is changing poses quickly and there is no fixed focal length.
> ...



Hi Todd

That's an excellent suggestion, thank you. AF might be the answer if I can figure out how to set one AF point on my Canon, I believe there is a way. For those here with Canon Rebel T3i, is there a way to set only one focal point? I can dig into the users guide, if need be.


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## weepete (Sep 6, 2016)

Try the AF point selection button.


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## robbins.photo (Sep 6, 2016)

mrobely said:


> Hi Todd
> 
> That's an excellent suggestion, thank you. AF might be the answer if I can figure out how to set one AF point on my Canon, I believe there is a way. For those here with Canon Rebel T3i, is there a way to set only one focal point? I can dig into the users guide, if need be.



Not an expert on the T3i by any means, but I think on it you have to choose the autofocus point and if I remember correctly you need to be shooting in P, Tv, Av, or M modes.  I think (and someone that owns a T3i can certainly correct me on this as needed) if your shooting in one of the automodes the camera can and will override your focus point selection.


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## mrobely (Sep 6, 2016)

weepete said:


> Try the AF point selection button.


That would probably be an excellent starting point! Ha ha


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## table1349 (Sep 6, 2016)

The Problem With The Focus-Recompose Method


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## PersistentNomad (Sep 6, 2016)

mrobely said:


> What looks sharp in the viewer looks fuzzy when I see it on the computer screen later, sometimes, so I am trying to figure out if that is because I am moving camera slightly when I squeeze shutter or it's my vision when I'm focusing.


Perhaps your viewfinder's diopter needs adjustment then. I was fiddling with mine just the other day to make sure it was still correct, and going from one end of the spectrum to the other is a small but noticeable difference.


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## robbins.photo (Sep 6, 2016)

gryphonslair99 said:


> The Problem With The Focus-Recompose Method



Assuming you focus and recompose.  I don't.  I prefer to either pick my AF point or shoot wide and recompose in post.  I find the later works best for action shots.  Either way I find it far superior too manual focus.  YMMV of course


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## mrobely (Sep 6, 2016)

tirediron said:


> Essentially you're talking about flow-posing.  Regardless, AF is the way to go.  The simple fact is, that today's cameras are not made for manually focusing, and it's very difficult to do with the focusing screens in most cameras.  In the days of the split-prism focusing screen, it was easy to see when you were dead-on focus.  Now?  Not so much.  I can't think of a reason why you would manually focus in the studio.


I'm moving more toward AF with each reply!


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## The_Traveler (Sep 6, 2016)

There are so many facts and so many ways for things not to go well.
Take your time; before you start trying to branch out in different areas of photography just learn to use your camera.
Read the manual, understand the exposure triangle, understand when to use different modes, even learn how to hold your camera (the source of lots of error.)


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## mrobely (Sep 6, 2016)

PersistantNomad said:


> mrobely said:
> 
> 
> > What looks sharp in the viewer looks fuzzy when I see it on the computer screen later, sometimes, so I am trying to figure out if that is because I am moving camera slightly when I squeeze shutter or it's my vision when I'm focusing.
> ...


Very good reminder, thank you. I do often overlook this simple step.


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## mrobely (Sep 6, 2016)

mrobely said:


> PersistantNomad said:
> 
> 
> > mrobely said:
> ...


But I ALSO RARELY USE THE DIOPTER, the viewer screen gives a much better display.


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## KmH (Sep 6, 2016)

Designer said:


> I'm not a professional, but if your model is changing positions quickly, how can you focus manually and do it accurately?


We did it all the time before auto focus was readily available.
All it takes is learning how to do it and some practice.

Some DSLR cameras have manual focusing aids.


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## PersistentNomad (Sep 6, 2016)

In general, the only time I find manual focus reliable and desirable is when shooting macro or still lives.


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## fmw (Sep 6, 2016)

PersistantNomad said:


> In general, the only time I find manual focus reliable and desirable is when shooting macro or still lives.



It is a matter of practice.   The major issue is that viewfinders no longer have split image rangefinders so one has to depend on the digital focus aid in digital cameras.  As long as you want to focus on the nearest part of the subject, auto focus works well and quickly.  The issues occur when you don't want to do that.  With portraiture you normally want to focus on an eye.  If your AF will do that reliably, then that is the way to go.


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## robbins.photo (Sep 6, 2016)

fmw said:


> It is a matter of practice.   The major issue is that viewfinders no longer have split image rangefinders so one has to depend on the digital focus aid in digital cameras.  As long as you want to focus on the nearest part of the subject, auto focus works well and quickly.  The issues occur when you don't want to do that.  With portraiture you normally want to focus on an eye.  If your AF will do that reliably, then that is the way to go.



Only if you don't understand how your camera's autofocus system works.  If you do and set it up/use it correctly it absolutely will not always focus on the nearest part of the subject.  That simply isn't true.


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## john.margetts (Sep 6, 2016)

One serious problem with manual focus on modern lenses is that they are designed for fast auto-focus. This means that the distance between close and infinity on the focus ring is very short. The camera can produce very accurate, very small motions which the human hand struggles to repeat.

Back when we had to focus manually the distance between close and infinity was much larger - on my Prakticar on my BC1 the distance between close and infinity is about 320 degrees. This makes focusing very slow but easy to be accurate (especially when coupled with the split image centre in the focus screen).


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## vintagesnaps (Sep 6, 2016)

Try doing what Lew suggested. If you're doing portraits you should know this - since you don't yet, then you should work on getting better at using your camera and figuring out what type focusing works best for you in a variety of situations before you do portraits.

And get out with the 50mm that you haven't even used yet. That seems to say you are not even close to being ready to do portraits. If you practice and learn you'd be more likely to set yourself up for later success.


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## The_Traveler (Sep 6, 2016)

mrobely said:


> But I ALSO RARELY USE THE DIOPTER, the viewer screen gives a much better display.



From this I infer that you are either always using a tripod or that you are holding the camera away from your body so you can see the lcd screen.

Sources of problem with tripod:

lousy unsteady tripod
image stabilization turned on (a no no unless your camera has a special mode)
shake from shutter pressure.

Sources of problem when holding the camera away from your body so you can see the lcd screen.: massively unsteady way to hold a camera.

I generally hold the camera with right hand supporting the r side of the body and finger on shutter button, left hand under the lens and body, both elbows tucked tight against my body.


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## weepete (Sep 6, 2016)

Manual focus is fine provided you can get enough depth of field to make it work. But in situations where you need to be quick and use a wide aperture then AF is more reliable.


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## chuasam (Sep 13, 2016)

Autofocus.
It's soooo difficult to manual focus on a modern DSLR because there isn't the split prism screen.


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## astroNikon (Sep 13, 2016)

mrobely said:


> ... if I can figure out how to set one AF point on my Canon, I believe there is a way. For those here with Canon Rebel T3i, is there a way to set only one focal point? I can dig into the users guide, if need be.


"is there a way to set only one focal point" =>


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## Braineack (Sep 13, 2016)

mrobely said:


> But I ALSO RARELY USE THE DIOPTER, the viewer screen gives a much better display.


apparently not...


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## smoke665 (Sep 13, 2016)

Not to high jack the OP's post but why do they not have the split prism anymore???  My vision is continuing to decline which forces me to use the screen at 10x for really sharp manual focus. Auto focus is great most of the time unless you're in low light or low contrast, which causes it to do a lot of hunting, especially on any glass without focus limiting. I've also noticed that when set to single point, the tiniest movement can cause it to shift to a new focus point.


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## astroNikon (Sep 13, 2016)

smoke665 said:


> Not to high jack the OP's post but why do they not have the split prism anymore???  My vision is continuing to decline which forces me to use the screen at 10x for really sharp manual focus. Auto focus is great most of the time unless you're in low light or low contrast, which causes it to do a lot of hunting, especially on any glass without focus limiting. I've also noticed that when set to single point, the tiniest movement can cause it to shift to a new focus point.


How does your camera change focus points unless it's on some auto setting?
If you manually set the focus point your camera won't change focus points.

I've set my diopter so that the viewfinder is in focus.  But in lower end cameras the viewfinder is much smaller and darker than the better camera bodies. 

I don't know when the split prism finally disappeared but there were 3rd parties (and are some new ones) that make focus screens for cameras.  
this company seemed to put the other ones out of business ==> Focusing Screen

The main issue is the lenses nowadays are super short focus throws which makes minute adjustments hard.  My really old AF lenses have very long throws.  As time went on to make AF faster the throws (turns on the focus ring) became much shorter.  with AF-S they're even shorter so sometimes focusing on something is difficult.  The newer lenses with MF override seem okay though focusing manually.


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## smoke665 (Sep 13, 2016)

astroNikon said:


> How does your camera change focus points unless it's on some auto setting?
> If you manually set the focus point your camera won't change focus points.



Probably wrong choice of words. Not sure how the OP's model works or the features it may have but on my K3 II, I have three focus tracking modes, one of which will lock focus, and two which will adjust for movement. Even if the focus tracking mode is set to lock focus, it will still "refocus" every time you half push the shutter to recompose (unless you  use the AF lock button, which will hold it for a few seconds).  Since the camera is going to focus on the point you place it on, any movement in between could set a new focus point (unless you've used the AF lock) while you're recomposing.

Both my Live View (Screen) and Viewfinder have the option of utilizing all or a combination of up to 27 focus points, from single point to multiple points, to selective points. Not sure of other brands, but when using the Live View Screen, mine uses CDAF (contrast detection), low light or those situations having little contrast can cause a lot of hunting even with a short throw lens. One feature that I like when using Live View is the "Focus Peaking" option, which outlines the edges of objects in focus with white. 

The view finder on the other hand uses phase detection to focus. The main advantage is the ability to focus in low light situations. The disadvantage is it's really hard to get an accurate focus in manual, especially for those like me with vision problems, something the old split prism would help.

My answer to the OP's question on using AF or manual, would be to read your manual and understand how your camera operates, because frankly there isn't a one answer fits all. The modern digital cameras (even the lower end models) have a lot of options. Knowing how those work will allow you to utilize the best options for the shot.


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## pendennis (Sep 13, 2016)

I've done some model shooting, and a lot of candid shots at weddings as part of my old wedding photography business, and one of the things I practiced was to anticipate people's movements.  With practice, it's a "sense" that you develop.  People are generally predictable in their movements.  Until auto focus came along, it was sometimes catch-as-catch-can.  Manual focusing only adds to your workload, and you'll have to learn to trap your shot if you don't use AF.

I wouldn't consider manual focus for anything moving, today.


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## sashbar (Sep 13, 2016)

Depends on the occasion. If the model agrees to wait each time you focus, I guess manual will be fine.  If you are shooting a pro model who is used to fast posing, which is about 100 poses per minute, then AF is the only way, I guess.


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