Sharp images - subject and background

[jerapaz]

Shooting at f5.6 ad f8 still gives be the background out of focus.
any tips?

[FootLoose]

It might help if you could post an image.

[Manfred M]

It's rather difficult to answer that question without more information; camera, focal length you were shooting at, distance the subject was away from you, etc. That being said f/5.6 to f/8 are really medium apertures and are not going to give you a lot of depth of field (DoF) at a lot of focal lengths. If you are not getting enough DoF, go to a smaller aperture like f/16, f/22 and beyond.

An upload of the image would be useful too.

[Geoff F]

Sometimes when I need to photograph both a foreground and a background with sharp focus, I take two, or more, shots with different focus points (using a tripod) then combine them to produce one image with exceptional focus depth.

Basically the same method as stacking multiple macro shots.

But there are a few potential problems to consider. Like subject movement or variations in exposure unless manual settings are applied. Obviously, manual focusing works best.

And you need suitable software for alignment of the shots. Some software will auto mask to select the sharpest areas from each layer, but I often add a mask to the layers and erase parts as required, by hand.

This can be interesting and rewarding at times. Also frustrating and mind blowing when problems do occur! But it does get me beyond the limitations of what even F22 can offer. And often with lower Iso or higher shutter speeds in poor light etc.

[benm]

In addition to using smaller apertures, as already suggested, use a camera with a smaller sensor.