Focus area Architecture

[Algreen78]

Hi all i am wondering what is the best Focus area other than manual focus for Architectural photography? In particular subway stations (New York) Prague Metro)
I really want maximum sharpness throughout the image which can be difficult in low light. I shoot around f-5 aperture and 1-100 second handheld.

 

[Brownie]

Hi all i am wondering what is the best Focus area other than manual focus for Architectural photography? In particular subway stations (New York) Prague Metro)
I really want maximum sharpness throughout the image which can be difficult in low light. I shoot around f-5 aperture and 1-100 second handheld.

Your aperture setting is going to determine your depth of field regardless of which focus area you use. Wider focus areas only give the camera the opportunity to find focus in a larger area of the screen, it doesn't mean that everything in the shot can be focused on at the same time. Maximum DOF with a standard lens will be achieved with a narrower aperture.

This is a case where a good wide-angle lens would come in handy due to the naturally deep DOF. For example, on a full frame sensor, a 15mm lens @ f/3.5 will have everything in focus from about 1 meter to infinity.

Use this DOF calculator to determine your DOF based on the camera/lens.

Depth of Field (DoF) calculator | PhotoPills

This Depth of Field (DoF) calculator will help you get the creative control on the design of your photos. Decide the zone of sharpness you need to tell the story you want and get your message across.

www.photopills.com

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Welcome Alan. Brownie said it best, you are really limiting yourself if you stick to f5.
I would only add that a tripod, or even monopod, would allow you to use a longer exposure. You might even get a pretty artsy effect if the train/subway stations are in perfect sharpness while people moving through them are unrecognizable blurs.

EDIT: I saw the photo you uploaded (Malostranska Metro), it turned out fairly well: excellent positioning and symmetry! I guess the camera grabbed focus on the first bin in the midground?

 

[Alan Clark]

With image stabilisation you can get sharp images with exposures of much longer than 1/100 sec - I have had no camera shake with 0.7 secs on a 90mm lens. You can also use crazy ISO values - 12800 will give perfectly good results if you use noise-reduction software. So with a wide angle lens you can work handheld at whatever aperture you like with no difficulty.

 

[Brownie]

To further @Alan Clark's post, remember shutter speed was based on focal length before we had stabilization.

"Never shoot a shutter speed slower than the focal length."

So, a 50mm could go to 1/60th of a second without a problem. Now that we have stabilization you can cut way back on the shutter speeds. Even one stop would be 1/30th, 2 stops would be 1/15th, etc. I have tested my camera with a 35mm lens to 5-1/2 stops if I'm careful, so no reason to stick with 1/100th.

The nice thing about digital is you can test all you want for free. It cost nothing more than your time. In the film days trial and error was expensive!

 

[Algreen78]

Your aperture setting is going to determine your depth of field regardless of which focus area you use. Wider focus areas only give the camera the opportunity to find focus in a larger area of the screen, it doesn't mean that everything in the shot can be focused on at the same time. Maximum DOF with a standard lens will be achieved with a narrower aperture.

This is a case where a good wide-angle lens would come in handy due to the naturally deep DOF. For example, on a full frame sensor, a 15mm lens @ f/3.5 will have everything in focus from about 1 meter to infinity.

Use this DOF calculator to determine your DOF based on the camera/lens.

Depth of Field (DoF) calculator | PhotoPills

This Depth of Field (DoF) calculator will help you get the creative control on the design of your photos. Decide the zone of sharpness you need to tell the story you want and get your message across.

www.photopills.com

Welcome Alan. Brownie said it best, you are really limiting yourself if you stick to f5.
I would only add that a tripod, or even monopod, would allow you to use a longer exposure. You might even get a pretty artsy effect if the train/subway stations are in perfect sharpness while people moving through them are unrecognizable blurs.

EDIT: I saw the photo you uploaded (Malostranska Metro), it turned out fairly well: excellent positioning and symmetry! I guess the camera grabbed focus on the first bin in the midground?

 

[Algreen78]

Thanks for all info, Try going up to f-8 or f-11. At f-5.6 shooting at iso 800 which on Sony A7iii is fine but after reading here can easily go way higher than that will give it a try.

 

[Algreen78]

The picture in metro station think shot manual focus it’s trial and error took it rather quickly to avoid people in the shot. Going back to visit 7 or 8 Metro stations in Prague in August so try out various settings.

 

[Algreen78]

While on the topic of Metro/Subway stations any advice for shooting moving trains? Have watched few videos and looked it up. Have a guide based on speed of the train ie Train going 30mph-50mph 1-500 also best results would be using continuous autofocus or lock on autofocus.
Any advice appreciated

 

[Brownie]

While on the topic of Metro/Subway stations any advice for shooting moving trains? Have watched few videos and looked it up. Have a guide based on speed of the train ie Train going 30mph-50mph 1-500 also best results would be using continuous autofocus or lock on autofocus.
Any advice appreciated

What's the desired result? Freeze the train? Show train motion? Panning?

 

[Algreen78]

What's the desired result? Freeze the train? Show train motion? Panning?

Freeze train

 

[Brownie]

Not sure how that would work out given your lighting. Will you be able to get to 1/500 without an insane ISO?

I think a panning shot would be far more interesting to keep the train focused and the background in motion. You could probably get by with 1/125 for that, or thereabouts. Panning takes practice, I don't do it enough to be good at it. If it were me I'd stand out near a street with a similar speed limit and practice on cars. Of course you'd have different light, but the skillset is the same.

 

[Algreen78]

To be honest the subway stations in New York i plan to photograph are outside around but still in limited light. They don’t appear to travelling fast maybe 25mph maximum. I would like to get a sharp image of the train as it comes in

 

[Brownie]

To be honest the subway stations in New York i plan to photograph are outside around but still in limited light. They don’t appear to travelling fast maybe 25mph maximum. I would like to get a sharp image of the train as it comes in

You can get a sharp image of the train and show movement by blurring the background. That's where panning comes in. If you use a shutter speed so fast that you freeze the train and the background, it may as well be setting still.

You can show motion a couple of ways:

• Train blurred with motion and background sharp
• Train sharp and background blurred with motion

This was made at the drag strip. Car is clear and sharp, background is blurred using motion, not bokeh. Note the 1/125 shutter speed

Old School_0046b by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

Another shot from the same day made at the same location. This car is sharp with a frozen background. For all the viewer knows, that car was setting still when I took the shot. Note the 1/1600 shutter speed.

Old Sch_0012d by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

You can also see the tire movement in the top shot which adds to the motion. The tires in the bottom shot are frozen, adding to the impression that the car was setting still.

 

[Algreen78]

You can get a sharp image of the train and show movement by blurring the background. That's where panning comes in. If you use a shutter speed so fast that you freeze the train and the background, it may as well be setting still.

You can show motion a couple of ways:

• Train blurred with motion and background sharp
• Train sharp and background blurred with motion

This was made at the drag strip. Car is clear and sharp, background is blurred using motion, not bokeh. Note the 1/125 shutter speed

Old School_0046b by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

Another shot from the same day made at the same location. This car is sharp with a frozen background. For all the viewer knows, that car was setting still when I took the shot. Note the 1/1600 shutter speed.

Old Sch_0012d by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

You can also see the tire movement in the top shot which adds to the motion. The tires in the bottom shot are frozen, adding to the impression that the car was setting still.

That’s great thanks for the info, Fantastic pictures

 

[Algreen78]

I am not use to shooting anything moving so in regards to a moving train in focus as discussed which would be best ? Continuous autofocus or lock on ?

 

[Brownie]

I'd use AF-C, but try both. Sometimes it's best to try different things and see what works for you. As I stated above, shoot, shoot, shoot, it's free. Take a hundred photos and determine which setup is best, then cull the rest.

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

In my experience with panning shots the key Sony camera settings are aperture, shutter speed, autofocus and focus area/setting.

There is also the relationship between subject speed and location(angle to the focal plane) at time of shooting.

Generally you are trying to focus on the train, bus ,car speed boat or other whilst at the same time pan your camera
to remain on the subject at a similar speed to the subject. Near subjects at high speed are much more difficult than
far subjects at high speed. The issue is zero or near zero relative speed between your camera planning speed and the
subject speed which with the subject as the focus point will speed blur the background...a camera location with
a higher subject to background distance and a lower focal length will tend to favour the background speed blur.....

For best results try to have the subject travelling parallel to your camera focal plane and take the shot when
the subject is directly opposite, the autofocus setting will compensate for this to a certain degree. if the subject is
travelling at an angle to your focal plane the focal distance is changing at all points and if using fixed focal distance
will be more difficult.

The shutter speed needs to be set relative to the subject speed and distance of subject to camera.

In general for motor bikes you will need to be at higher shutter speeds 1/250 - 1/350 whilst for jet skis and the
like you can shut down to 1/20 -50 fps and cars buses and trains nearer to 1/20-50 than the much higher speed
motorbikes. Again this needs to be qualified dependant on the distance between subject and camera due to the
faster speed of the same subject at the same ground speed if near or far.

if your shot is clear with no in frame obstructions you can shoot wide whilst I find zone or flexible spot/tracking to be
often best.

The adequacy of lighting will also impact on all of the above in relation to the suitable shutter speed.

The above may seem complicated but as always practice will make perfect and help you to find your way through
the above by trial and error...these are my recommendations but no doubt others may have contrary views.

 

[Algreen78]

Thank you for all advice