What is your ideal aperature.... interesting

[sma200]

What is the ideal aperature you like to use for
2 people
3 people
4 people
5 people
6 people
etc...

I know that it can vary depending on the kind of picture you are going to take, or the look you are tryign to achieve. But, just as a rule of thumb, when you have a photoshoot of say 4 people, do you already have a aperature in mind you want to use? And so on...

[nickbedford]

The aperture you should use also depends on the focal length. A wide angle lens won't need as small an aperture on a group than a telephoto lens.

Not only that, but your aperture also depends on the style of shoot. If you're taking candid or available light portraits, you're typically going to use a large aperture (f/1.8 - 2.8) to not only blur the background but also to simply get enough light. When I'm dealing with multiple people possibly offset from the focal plane, I go upwards of f/5.6 if I can without losing too much light. Of course, in daylight this is no issue.

Nick Bedford, Photographer Archive Finabah “Killing For Bad Dreams” 09 Jan ’11



If you're doing studio work with high powered flash or bulb lighting, then you can stop down on the aperture to get a larger depth of field and sharper image overall. In the few of these shoots I've done, I've used an aperture of around f/7.1 to f/9 and the images are sharp as a tack.

Nick Bedford, Photographer Archive Ken’s Passport

(this is a crop - not 1:1 though)

I've always been a 2.95 man.

Can't really justify a 3.0 setting, I guess I just feel nostalgic about the whole 2.95 experience. I just get this warm fuzzy feeling when you click the scroll wheel just right and mmmmhmmm... just tasty.


My answer was just as absurd as the question, just trying to match the level of insanity and blend in.

Good day sir.

~Eric

[nickbedford]

Originally Posted by maxharvard

Good day sir.

You're a crook. You're a cheat and a swindler! How could you do a thing like this, raise up a little boy's hopes and then dash all his dreams to pieces? You're an inhuman monster!

[ravncat]

F 0.95 - the only thing that matters is the eyes of the person in the front of the line - cant see the people behind him/her anyway.

[Sloseph]

Originally Posted by nickbedford

You're a crook. You're a cheat and a swindler! How could you do a thing like this, raise up a little boy's hopes and then dash all his dreams to pieces? You're an inhuman monster!

yes!!! +1

i don't really do portraits

[SwissJon]

f/22.. But then I'm landscape photographer

[wulf]

My rule of thumb is to set the aperture to play its part in getting the amount of light required while giving the best possible effect from its contribution to the depth of field.

If you try to pick an aperture setting based on an unrelated factor, such as the number of people in the shot, the only value is if you are doing it as a photographic exercise (eg. I'll keep the lens wide open and take a shot of one person, then narrow the aperture the step for each person I add into the group).

Wulf

[Biomech]

As around f/8.0 is generally considered the sweet spot on most lenses, I start from their. Nothing worse than shooting long, wide open and getting horrible blurry shots.