How do you "focus on the eyes" with a DSLR?

Question

I have a Nikon DSLR, but I'm pretty sure that settings are similar to other DSLRs like Canon's, or Sony's, or Pentax'.

When taking portraits, or people, you should always focus your camera on that person's eyes. But, how do you do this? Do I set my focus mode on "Single-point AF" and manually select the focus area on the eyes or just leave it at "Auto-area AF"?

How about my metering? Do I set it to Matrix, Center-Weighted, or Spot given that my subject is in the dead center and in a non-studio background?

Answer 1

Ususally the battery light flashing is a sign of an alternator/charging system problem. You need to perform a charging system test to verify proper charging. I have yet to figur out why manufacturers use a battery light, when it actually refers to the charging system. I've replaced mant alternators with the battery light on, that the customer replaced a good battery because the battery light was on.

Answer 2

Yes, YOU have to select the focus point. Allowing the camera to do ANY type of auto select will never work. Higher end cameras have more focus points from which to choose compared to more entry level cameras, but you should still be able to get a point that is close to a match for your composition.



When doing "serious" portraits, I take a reading from a frame filling grey card, and manually set those parameters into the camera. Otherwise, I suggest you leave the metering on matrix.

Answer 3

Yes, single point AF. Auto-area focus will focus where the camera wants to, not where YOU want to. Auto-area focus is for amateurs. Don't use it for portraits. Set your focus so that it focuses in the center of the viewfinder. Place the center of your viewfinder on the subject's eyes, press the shutter button halfway down until it focuses. While STILL HOLDING the shutter button halfway down, re-compose and shoot. Be sure and not move forwards or backwards after you lock the focus or it'll be out of focus.



If you're not using studio lighting, how you meter it is up to you. I usually use center-weighted metering, then shoot one. I look at it on the camera, then I change to manual exposure and set the same aperture and shutter speed that you just shot. If you need to adjust the lighting, then you can change it as needed. Depending on the light, etc., you can change either the shutter speed or the aperture to get the exposure you want. I always shoot my first portrait shot on Aperture-priority because I typically want f/5.6 or f/8, depending on the subject and how shallow a depth of field I want. Then I change to manual and adjust the shutter speed accordingly.

Answer 4

If you haven't done so yet, make sure you adjust the camera's diopter to your eyesight. Read the camera's manual on how to do that properly. Next step is to set focus to manual (MF) the focus on the nearest eye. Focus points do not matter when you do it manually.



To make sure you get a sharper image, set aperture size to a larger f/number to increase DOF. The larger the f/number (smaller aperture size) the longer the DOF, the more focused the image is generally.

Answer 5

Set your camera to single-point focus, then while you point the focus red blinking dot on the person's face, hold the shutter down half-way to lock that focus. Then recompose and press the button all the way to snap the shot.

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

I don't know