Which focus point for portraits?

[tonyq]

Hi all,
When taking a portrait (Head and Shoulders) photo with my Canon 600D 50mm 1.8 set at say 2.8 Camera/lens, is it better to use the central focus point on the nearest eye and then recompose,or to use one of the outer focus points nearest to the eye?. I seem to have read that the centre focus point focuses better than the outer ones.

 

[Fatheadedlizard]

Whichever way works best for you and gets the area you want in focus

 

[Phil V]

It's dependant on the conditions and camera.

With a lot of cameras the centre point is best but the others are perfectly good, on a camera where the centre point is much better and the light is crap, then centre point will be the better option.

 

[juggler]

There's a theoretical problem when focusing and recomposing with a very shallow DoF - if you rotate the plane of focus then you could end up moving the eye out of that plane.

I don't think it's often an issue - I've not done any rigorous tests - but I tend to move the focus point whenever I have time.

 

[kissfoto]

I tend to use the center focus point and recompose. As said shallow DOF could be a problem but I have found that it is rare. IMO

 

[david357]

I always move the focus point, never had any luck with focus and recompose when using large apertures.

 

[Mike54]

Just watch out for the off-centre focal points, if they are not crossed then know which way they are , vertical or horizontal.
I had an experience once where the shots I took were soft in the eye; while backgrounds, hats or hair with its the hi contrast lines were spot on.

 

[badboy1984]

Sometimes selecting a different focus point might not be precise where the eyes are. I use to used focus and recompose and it works great, haven't ran into any problem. Like someone said, with crap light, I definitely use center focus point and recompose. If light is alright I tend to just the nearest focus point and recompose a little for framing purpose. This is still focus and recompose but very little movement.