Hyperfocal Focusing

What is hyperfocal focusing?

Put simply, it is a method of focusing your camera to achieve a greater depth of field than would normally be had from basic focusing.

Here's how it works:-

If we assume the scene you wish to photograph is a distant hill and you want to have as much foreground in focus as possible

You would normally focus the lens at infinity. Most camera lenses have a depth of field guide on the lens barrel. With the lens set to infinity, read off the nearest point of focus for the aperture you have chosen (Fig 1). In our example of F/16 this is 3m). This is the hyperfocal distance. The depth of field ranges from 3m to infinity.

Fig. 1

If using an auto-focus camera, set it to manual focus. Now re-focus the lens at the hyperfocal distance (Fig 2). In our example, the depth of field now ranges from ½m to infinity so more of the foreground will be in focus.

Fig. 2

When you look through the viewfinder, you will find that the scene will appear out of focus - don't be concerned, it will be in focus in the final photograph.

	Walks in Yorkshire