one eye in focus, one not

[anfisa]

One eye is in focus, one is not. Can you tell me why this is happening to some of my photos? Should I do an AF micro adjustment?

f 3.2, 1/200,  ISO 500

[Damien Symonds]

What lens, and what focal length?

[anfisa]

canon 50mm 1.4

[Damien Symonds]

@Brian?  @Christina Keddie?  @Kim?  Any advice about this?

[Christina Keddie]

I'd encourage you to read up on what contributes to the depth of your focal plane.   There are a ton of free depth of field calculators online that will let you put in numbers and figure out how much of your photo will be within your focal plane (i.e., in focus).

Three basic factors:

- aperture (the wider your aperture, the shallower your focal plane)
- focal length (the longer your focal length, the shallower your focal plane)
- distance to subject (the closer you are to your subject, the shallower your focal plane)

Here, you were at a fairly wide aperture (f/3.2), at a middle-normal focal length (50mm), and I'm guessing you were super close to your subject.  That gave you a focal plane that was too shallow to have both eyes in focus.

If after you took this photo you checked it on your LCD screen and zoomed in to check your focus, and noticed that your focal plane was too narrow for what you wanted to achieve, you'd have three options: narrow your aperture, use a wider focal length, or get farther away from your subject. 

Or recognize that your focal plane, however narrow or deep it is, is a "slice" of the scene in front of you that is perpendicular to your camera.  In other words, if you want to use a super shallow DOF *and* get both eyes in focus, angle yourself such that both of your subject's eyes are the same distance from your camera, so they'll both fall within the focal plane.

[Brian]

Also, is this a full frame body? If so, have you shot with it for awhile? 

The reason I ask is this type of thing usually bites photographers who have switched from a crop sensor to a full frame sensor. You have to think differently. The reason has to do with the larger full frame sensor has a different angle of view, forcing you to get closer...which means you need to stop down to compensate. At f/3.2, this close to the subject with a full frame body, your DoF is razor thin, so it's easy to have one eye in focus and the other one out of focus. 

I know, baby photographers like the fuzzy-wuzzy sleeping baby photos. This shot might have called for a 85mm or even a 105mm (non-macro). Since the focal length is longer, the DoF changes. Or you could have tried f/4 or even f/5.6. That would have helped.  

[Kim Howells]

I agree with Christina and Brian, it's just a depth of field issue, relating to aperture, and distance from your subject.