Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Nelson Chan asked: Focusing a 75 1.4 > I would say 15% are throw outs. My subject is my 6 week old baby. She is > laying down on an upright cradle and I am shooting at one side. Since my > baby is small, I have to really shoot near the subject to more or less, fill > the frame. Most of the photos have one eye in focus only.<<<<< Nelson, The one eye in focus is about all you'll get in focus at f 1.4 or any other lens of that focal length, particularly if you're shooting close, as the depth of field/focus is extremely shallow. You might try using faster film allowing for smaller aperture use and a tiny bit more depth. If youu're using colour neg try the Fuji NHG II 800 and push it one stop to 1600. No there isn't any grain, just use it, take the film to a pro-lab, might pay a few dollars more. But what the heck eh, your baby daughter is worth it to have pictures you'd otherwise not have.;-) Besides these are family pictures and you do not want to be explaining the intricacies of depth of field to the baby's grand parents when they look at them. As all they'll see is you screwed-up and took out of focus pictures! :-) For the family kind of photos and you are shooting available light and want to see the baby's full face try to shoot as flat to the face as possible, that doesn't mean at the closest focus point. But to see the full face all in focus, providing it's all on the same plane. With the baby only 6 weeks old she'll be lying down anyway so put her on a blanket on the floor and shoot down on her as that'sll keep the child flat to camera angle. You know use one of those nice baby blankets and pop her right in the middle. :-) ted PS: >>Any suggestion for photographing babies using the 75mm? or should I just use the nikon 85/1.4? Oops. Sorry.:)<<<< Naw stick with the Leica 75 and the more you use it the better it gets. Besides because you are using an 85 at 1.4 the depth isn't going to be any better wide open. Besides if you use the Nikon you'll develop a heat rash! ;-) Will shoot a > couple of rolls with the lens. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html