D7000 focusing help

Hello,

I am new to the D7000 - came from the D50. I've taken a handful of family photos recently and I have no idea what setting I am messing up on in the focus point dept. but even if I have 2 kids sitting next to each other, I'll get one kid in sharp focus, and the other a bit off focus. What do I need to be setting on my camera so I can get multiple people in focus at the same time (all the same distance from camera).

thanks,
andrea

If they are the same distance from the lens then they should both be in focus. If one is closer than the other then it would be depth of field. You need to upload a photo for us to see what you're dealing with. Don will tell you how to do that when he asks you to complete your profile.

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Thanks

Chances are they are not the exact same distance from the camera it they are not both in focus. You probably need to have a greater Depth of Field. This is done by using a smaller Aperture but there are other ways also but this is the easiest one. Another place to see what distance, aperture and focal length of the lens does to depth of field is here

Here is an example -- one in focus, the other not so much. And I was chicken and used auto settings instead of manual (still weaning myself off auto).

Try the program mode next. still gives you a lot of auto features but gives you a little more control.
The boy is a little sharper but the girl is closer to the camera so if your focus point was on the boy then she would be slightly out of focus. Looks like it was a overcast day so aperture was probably wide open.

While the kids are technically next to each other, the girl's face is definitely closer to the camera than the boys, which is where the camera appears to have focused.

What is your aperture setting? Can you tell us where the focus point was? It looks like you may have been shoot at max aperture, so the depth of field may be too narrow. Also, the D7000 has been known to backfocus a little without fine tuning, so anything in front of the focus point may be even more out of focus than usual.

I suggest you find the menu option for, and enable, "Auto ISO"; allowing it the full range from ISO100 to ISO6400. Then, put your camera's mode dial on "A"perture Priority and set your aperture to f/8. This will now serve as your new baseline. From here, experiment with different apertures and shutter speeds and branch out as you get more comfortable.

.....

For that type of shot also try with AF mode set to AF-S and auto focus area mode to Single-Point. That's with Aperture priority selected as already suggested.

Thanks for all the tips - going to do some practice tomorrow!

-Andrea