Photography News Issue 29

Technique 67

Photography News Issue 29 absolutephoto.com

Photo school Camera class Everyone has to start somewhere, even pros, and in Photo School we look at the core skills every beginner needs. This month, how to win at manual focusing and how to sharpen selectively in Lightroom and Camera Raw

Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton

Although autofocus systems have superseded manual focusing in most forms of photography – and with good reason – there are still plenty of occasions where you will want to make use of the latter. For instance while AF is easier to use when working handheld and can be vital for tracking subjects, when you’re shooting from a tripod with more time to perfect the point of focus, using manual is often a superior route. That could include shooting landscapes, architectural shots, still life, macro andmany other subjects. Manual focus is also very helpful when shooting in situations that make AF struggle, such as low light or through objects that confuse the focus like glass, fences, long grass and so on. Despite the accuracy and speed of modern phase-detect AF systems in DSLRs, manual focusing is also in

many ways the only way of knowing if something is truly in focus, and the following tips will help you do it. On most DSLRs, manual focus can be activated by a switch on the camera body (above), or the lens itself, while on some CSCs you may need to dip into a focusingmenu. Use the focus indicator If your camera has a phase-detect AF system, which all DSLRs do, when

Another benefit of using live view is that you can focus on any part of the view as they are unrestricted by the positioning of phase-detect AF points (above). Use focus peaking Whilewe’reonthesubjectofliveview, many cameras now offer a function called focus peaking. When in Live View, this adds a highlight to any areas that the contrast-detect system deems to be in focus. Turn the zoom ring and you’ll see the highlight area roll through the image as the plane of focus shifts (top right). An advantage of focus peaking is that it can be used to focus in live view mode without zooming in on any part of the scene, making focusing faster. The only downside of live view is that it places more of a drain on battery life than focusing through the viewfinder, but the benefits far outweigh this. Move the subject This one is less about accuracy and more about ease of working when you’re shooting tabletop still-life or macro subjects from a tripod. The problem is that, having stepped up, you often need to reframe or move

composing through the viewfinder, you’ll be able to make use of a focus indicator. This is a visual cue which appears when the subject comes into focus under the AF point you’re using. It happens because, although you’re in manual focus mode, the AF system is still active and able to detect the level of contrast that tells it when the focus is achieved. To make use of the focus indicator, move the active AF point over the subject, or the part of the scene that you want in focus, and turn the lens’s focusing ring until it appears (the green blob, left). Magnify the live view On cameras with live view mode – this includes all modern DSLRs – the most accurate way of focusing is to use the screen. Live view offers a ‘what you see is what you get’ reproduction of the scene, so you can be sure that if something looks sharp on the preview, so it will be in the final image. Manual focusing with live view should be done in conjunctionwith amagnified view, so find the zoom control and enlarge the part of the scene that you want to be sharpest, then bring it into focus with the focus ring.

the camera so that the subject falls outside the lens’s minimum focusing distance. That, of course, means moving the camera and the tripod, which is annoying. But if you set up your subject on a movable base, like a tea tray, or have it positioned on a flexible clamp, you can slide it around with ease, making manual focusing (and composition) much easier. The rocking method No, not something from a 70s sex manual, but an alternative to using the manual focusing ring when shooting handheld. The technique comes in particularly useful when shooting close to the subject and using a very wide lens aperture for a shallow depth-of-field. Whether you’re focusing by eye, using the focus indicator or using a preview on the camera’s screen, the rocking method is often easier than using the focusing ring, especially if the subject is moving. Focusing approximately on the subject you simply rock or sway your shooting position back and forward slightly and shoot at the optimum sharpness. Next month: How focusing affects depth-of-field.

Softwareskills Sharpening inRaw

Final image

Global sharpening doesn’t really make sense; after all why would you want every element to be sharp? In almost all cases, sharpness should be applied selectively, so you can alter the amount and where it’s added to suit the scene. As in our example, you might just want to sharpen the rocks in the stream and not the stream itself. Thanks to the Adjustment Brush in Photoshop’s Camera Raw interface, and the same tool in Lightroom, sharpness can be added wherever you want in the picture – you just paint it on like any other adjustment. This editing is best left to the end of the development process, and it’s a good idea to add sharpness alone, rather than applying colour or tonal adjustments with the same brush. Here, we’re using the Adjustment Brush in Adobe Camera Raw, though its functions are similar in Lightroom. For full control, go to the Detail tab, and under Sharpening set the Amount (which works globally) to 0. Next month: How to use High Pass sharpening in Photoshop.

1. Set up the Brush How accurately you can apply the sharpening effect depends on how well you use the Adjustment Brush, so set it up correctly before you make a start. Hit K in Camera Raw or in Lightroom, and then set the Size to a little smaller than the area you want to sharpen. Next set the Feather to a high level so that you get a soft edge, and set the Flow to around 50, so that the effect is built up gradually. Density can be left at 100, as this caps the maximum amount of an effect that you can apply to an image.

2. Using the Brush Now set the Brush to New and push the Sharpness slider to 50 (this can be lowered later if it’s too strong, or increased if it’s not enough). Begin running the Adjustment Brush over the parts of the image that you want to add sharpness to, remembering that with the Flow set below its maximum this will take several sweeps to build up the effect. When you’ve covered the parts that you want, click on the Mask to assess the coverage (you can also toggle it with Y in Adobe Camera Raw or O in Lightroom).

3. Tidy the sharpening Even with care, it’s likely that the sharpening will be too broad and spill into areas where you don’t want it, especially if you’re working on tricky shapes, like the rocks in the example. If so, click on the Erase button and set the brush up as before, matching its size and softness to the editing you want to perform. Again, it’s helpful to set the Flow lower than the maximum so that a gradual effect is created. Switch on the Mask and run it over the areas to remove. If you need to retouch any areas, click Add and paint them back in. Job done.