Focusmethods
Differentapproachestotry
SHALLOWFOCUS
Forashallowdepth
offieldeffect,set
awideaperture
suchasf/3.5or
f/2.8.Focusonthe
closestitemonyour
dishtothrowthe
backgroundintoa
pleasingblur.SETFOCUSPOINTS
Setthecamerato
ManualAFPoint
Selection,ensure
thatthefocuspoint
isdisplayedonthe
LiveViewscreen
andthenusethe
camera’sjoystickto
selectadesiredpoint.CLOSE-UPS
Setyourfocus
modetomanualand
thefocusofyour
macrolenstoits
maximum1:1ratio
value.Nowmove
backandforthuntil
thesubjectissharp
andtaketheshot.Consider which foodie elements are the most visually important to
your scene, and learn to focus effectively on those key areas
Find the focal point
7
It’s important to fine-tune the focus of your
food photographs, taking control over where
the focal point is rather than letting autofocus
functions make the decision for you. Your
approach to focusing will depend partly on
the angle that you’re shooting at in relation to
the dishes – when looking directly down on a
flatlay table, it’s easy to get the whole table
sharp because the focal plane is flat. Choose
an aperture of around f/5.6 here to ensure
sharpness across an overhead scene.
When you’re shooting at a 3/4 angle to
dishes with a shallow aperture, parts of the
dish will become blurred, so consider where
you want the emphasis and visual attention
to be – usually this will be the front of a dish,
interesting foreground elements, or on an
action if there is one.For greater accuracy, it’s best to use your
camera’s Live View mode so you can see the
focus more clearly on the rear screen. Zoom
in on Live View and use autofocus to focus on
the nearest dishes in the frame, then switch to
manual focus to lock it off and take the shot.
With food photography, manually setting
your camera’s focal point (and placing it over
a point of interest using Live View) is another
effective approach. With stationary subjects,
focus modes are perhaps less imperative,
but it’s still important to know which suits
you best. Single-Servo AF mode is useful, as
the camera focuses when you half-press the
shutter button down. You’ll be able to focus
and recompose using this mode, which helps
with still-life food setups when you can’t quite
decide on the best framing and want options.Shallow depth of field
Using a very wide aperture
to throw the foreground and
background out of focus is
a commonly used technique,
designed to draw the
viewer’s attention to the dish
© Esther LingTECHNIQUES