Ask Your Photographer: Eye Detect Auto Focus
Today I am beginning a new series called “Ask Your Photographer”. These posts will be designed to help in evaluating a professional photographer for any type of photo session or important event.
For a great shot, the subject’s eyes must be in focus!
If you are trying to hire a photographer, what questions should you ask and what should you be looking for? There are some obvious things like looking at their portfolio of previous work, but what about some of the more technical aspects of professional photography? That is what we are going to discuss in these posts.
The topic today is a relatively modern advancement in photography called Eye Detect Auto Focus or “EyeAF”. Mirrorless cameras with EyeAF are able to automatically detect the eyes of the subject (person or animal) and lock focus on them even as they move. Why does this matter? Well, when photographing people, the eyes are the absolute most important thing to make sure are in focus for each shot. Almost daily I see people posting professionally taken pictures to social media where the eyes are out of focus.
One of the things that makes professional photos look professional is that we frequently shoot our subjects with a very shallow depth-of-field. This is what gives you beautifully blurred backgrounds (bokeh) that highlight your in-focus subject in the foreground. However, when a photographer is shooting with a very shallow depth of field, the margin of error increases dramatically and there is a greater likelihood their subject’s eyes will be out-of-focus.
So how shallow are we talking? It depends on a lot of factors, but in some cases the focal plane can be as narrow as 1 to 2 centimeters. Think about the length of your nose. If depth of field is only 1 centimeter, and the camera is focused on your nose instead of your eyes, then your face will look out of focus. For the session in the photo above, I was shooting with an extremely shallow depth of field. If my focus had been on the flute instead of the subject’s eyes, the shot would not have been sharp. However, with EyeAF, I was able to concentrate more on the composition and lighting with confidence that her eyes would be in focus. The result is an incredibly sharp shot with eyes that are perfectly in focus.
If a photographer is shooting without EyeAF, then they must manually move the camera’s focal point onto the subject’s eyes and try to keep this point on the eyes even as they move. Even a stationary subject will never remain perfectly still, so imagine how challenging this can be with moving subjects like in a wedding. As an alternative, some photographers with older cameras compensate by making their depth-of-field much deeper, which in turn can reduce the overall quality of the shots.
What it comes down to is how many shots from a session or an event will be high quality and in-focus. If the shot is out of focus then even if you have the perfect lighting, wardrobe, composition, location, or any other factor, it simply will not matter. If a photographer is using cameras with EyeAF, then a higher percentage of their shots from a session or an event will be in perfect focus, and they can use a much shallower depth of field without dramatically increasing the risk of shots not being sharp. This means better pictures and more choices for you as the client. This is why it matters.
So, ask your photographer if they use modern, mirrorless cameras with EyeAF. If so, there is a greater likelihood they will capture shots you will be happy with. Have a question about any of this? Drop us a comment below or send a message using the contact menu above.
As for us, we exclusively use Nikon Z mirrorless cameras that are equipped with EyeAF. Want more information about our services, our gear, or want to book a session? Send us a note, and we’ll get back with you right away. Want to see more of our work? Check out the gallery or posts from our blog.
