Nail focus in all your landscape photos with this simple tip

One of the trickiest questions in landscape photography is: where to focus? Especially if you also include the foreground in your shots and want everything to be sharp. In his latest video, William Patino dives into the techniques to help you get your images sharp from foreground to background.

William emphasizes that where you focus in a scene determines how much of the frame is sharp. However, sharpness isn’t just about focus—it also depends on other factors like aperture (f-stop), focal length, and your proximity to the subject. These elements work together to shape the depth of field, which is key for sharp landscape photos.

The basics of focusing

When William was starting out, he admits that he was frustrated trying to figure out where to focus. He spent time reading about hyperfocal distance and trying to figure it out. While this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn about hyperfocal distance, perhaps start with something more basic if you’re new to the craft. So, William advises focusing on the midground. He adds that, 90% of the time, using a practical “focus, review, and adjust” method will ensure sharpness throughout the frame. In this context, the “midground” is an area not too close and not too far.

Here’s how William approaches it:

• Check sharpness: After focusing, he zooms in on the image in-camera to inspect sharpness in the foreground, midground, and background.
• Adjust f-stop as needed: If parts of the image are soft, he narrows the aperture (e.g., switching from f/8 to f/11 or f/16).
• Focus stack when necessary: For extremely close foregrounds, William takes multiple shots, each focused at a different point, and blends them in post-processing to achieve sharpness throughout the frame.

William provides real-life examples to show how his focusing strategies adapt to different scenes:

• Classic wide-angle shot: For scenes with a prominent foreground, midground, and background, he usually focuses on the midground and shoots with a narrower aperture like f/11 or f/16. He adjusts the settings or focus stacks if needed to maintain sharpness throughout.
• Close-ups: When the main subject is close, like a branch or leaf, William focuses directly on the subject. He uses a small aperture to increase depth of field while keeping the subject sharp.
• Distant scenes: For frames where all elements are far away—like a bird and a mountain—he notes that focus placement becomes less critical, as the depth of field covers everything at standard apertures.

William’s overarching advice is simple: focus on the midground 90% of the time. While hyperfocal distance charts and advanced calculations can be helpful, he finds them overly complicated for most situations. His approach—focus, review, adjust—is straightforward and reliable and it will spare you from overthinking while you’re still on that steep learning curve early on your journey.

[Where To Focus For Sharp Photos via FStoppers]

---