Not sure if this has been asked already...

[Gina9942]

What aperture do you mostly shoot with when shooting kids, I prefer a big aperture (that's what she said!) so I can use more natural light. I usually do shoot at f/2 or even f 1/4. Is there a magic number for shooting portraits? I recently read somewhere this is not the ideal for portraits especially children portraits. Thoughts?

[zona5101]

Some of you question is going to depend on what lens you choose. At a given f stop the depth of field decreases as the focal length goes up. At 10 feet f4.0 a 300mm lens will have a very narrow depth of field(.05'), it might be hard to get the tip of the nose and the eyes both in focus. A 105mm would give you more DOF(.43'); a 50mm a bit more(1.94'); and going with a 35mm lens the front to back focus area is like 4 feet!
Since unrestrained kids tend move around a bit choosing the "best" aperture will be a function of how much you expect them to move vs maximizing the light available to increase your shutter speed ('casue they're unrestrained) vs your tolerance for noise from a higher iso.

One more thought, some lens are particularly happy at a given f stop and produce their best quality at this setting. Usually that is a few stops down from wide open.

[LoveDSLR]

I don't need to shoot faster that f/2.8 mostly since my camera can handle high ISO such as 6400.

I'll select f/1.2 - f/2 for creativity and f/4 - f/8 to ensure everything is in focus. It all depends on my gear's capability, situations and what I have in mind for the photo.

[wulf]

Try some different settings for experience. The only magic settings are the ones that allow you to capture the images you are seeking; if you are working with natural light, love out of focus backgrounds and are quick enough to get the right details sharp, then a wide aperture on a fast lens will be perfect.

Wulf

[Raoul Isidro]

Depending on the focal length of your lens, the DOF at 1.4 or 1.8 will be very very narrow.
The babies eyes might be brilliantly sharp and focused but her ears or curly locks might be blurred. The blob at the side might be her feet! It depends also on what you want to show as a focused subject.

[kelleyrie]

i like using my 60mm 2.8 macro for kid's portraits, it's crisp and I run it at 2.8 or 3.0 to get a nice blurred out background
example:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/...80d840d0_o.jpg

[Gina9942]

Originally Posted by kelleyrie

i like using my 60mm 2.8 macro for kid's portraits, it's crisp and I run it at 2.8 or 3.0 to get a nice blurred out background
example:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/...80d840d0_o.jpg

Love that!!! I usually use my 50mm 1.4 ( I think its 1.4) I love it, but I do want to get a new lens, although I am leaning more towards a wide angle

[kelleyrie]

thanks I think my next one is gonna be a longer macro

[autofocus]

The only trouble with shooting wide open is when you're doing a tight face 3/4 profile...one eye is sharp, and the other can be soft. I sometime find that a little disturbing and would rather sacrifice a little background softness by stopping down a bit and get both eyes sharper...but that's me

Vinnie