Landscape photography

[Goldcoin79]

Hi all

Im hoping some of you may be able to give me advice on doing landscape photography.

My first question is regarding what apeture to set, I know you will want a large depth of field so would use a large f number (to give small apeture) but how do you chose what f number to use with out creating such a small apeture you cause diffraction?

My next question is what do you focus on for landscapes and does it matter, would you focus at infinity, a foreground object or any thing?

any advice is appreciated.

 

[skieur]

Any advice would vary with the details of the shot that you are taking. Good landscapes usually have a foreground, middle ground and background. Very generally speaking an aperture of f13 would give you a good depth of field as would a focal length of 28mm.
Focus would be on the middle area if you were between 28mm and 50mm in focal length on a zoom lens.

 

[hirejn]

There's no one aperture for every shot, but I see what you're saying. F/16 is a good starting point, and don't worry about what all the scientists tell you about sharpness and "diffraction." You can go all the way to f/22. Just do it, but use a tripod if possible. The image is recorded in 2-D format and so there's always some perspective compression. But the question of what to focus on is simple: focus on your subject. If the subject is a lighthouse in the distance, focus on it. If the subject is foreground rocks, focus on them. You have to decide what the most important element of the photograph is and how to record it.

Even at high f-numbers, you can't always keep everything in focus. The closer your lens is to the subject, the more the background will be out of focus, even at f/22. If you get close to a rock at f/22 and there's a lighthouse in the background, the lighthouse will still be blurry if you focus on the rock. But if you back off and shoot a wider scene, more of it will appear sharp. So if you back off, you could get that lighthouse or mountain and still maintain reasonable sharpness in the foreground at f/16 to f/22.

Instead of what aperture to use, why not ask how to correctly meter and expose a scene? Even if your aperture isn't the best, correct exposure and quality of light will make a far greater impact than an appropriate aperture. On my site is an example of a landscape shot at f/5.6. Joel Nisleit Photography | South Dakota 2012 | Cathedral Spires. It works because it's a wide shot. What stands out first, the light or the aperture?

 

[TCampbell]

Hi all

Im hoping some of you may be able to give me advice on doing landscape photography.

My first question is regarding what apeture to set, I know you will want a large depth of field so would use a large f number (to give small apeture) but how do you chose what f number to use with out creating such a small apeture you cause diffraction?

My next question is what do you focus on for landscapes and does it matter, would you focus at infinity, a foreground object or any thing?

any advice is appreciated.

How large do you plan to print?

If you're making a 16x20 to frame and hang on the wall and using an APS-C DLSR then perhaps you don't want to go above f/11. But if your'e making an 8x10 or sharing this on the web then use any aperture you want... because at those sizes you wont notice that the camera is diffraction limited.

If you have a full-frame camera then you can get away with f/16.

If you focus at "infinity" then you're cheating some of the near foreground sharpness. The "hyper-focal distance" is the distance which maximizes the focused area for any given camera, focal length, and aperture combination. Once upon a time, lenses had depth of field scales on the lenses... which are not very common today with auto-focus lenses. But you can still use tools or websites such as DOFmaster.com to find the hyperfocal distance for your camera/lens/aperture combination.

 

[skieur]

There's no one aperture for every shot, but I see what you're saying. F/16 is a good starting point, and don't worry about what all the scientists tell you about sharpness and "diffraction." You can go all the way to f/22. Just do it, but use a tripod if possible. The image is recorded in 2-D format and so there's always some perspective compression. But the question of what to focus on is simple: focus on your subject. If the subject is a lighthouse in the distance, focus on it. If the subject is foreground rocks, focus on them. You have to decide what the most important element of the photograph is and how to record it.

Of course not, but given diffraction and average lighting conditions, f13 is a better starting point than f16 when working without a tripod which is common for beginners. Focusing on the subject in a landscape does not work in the sense that if you focus on the lighthouse in the distance then your foreground or middle ground is likely to be out-of-focus which makes a lousy image.

 

[TimGreyPhotography]

I agree with TCampbell, You should defintally calculate out the hyper-focal distance for your camera/lens. The only lens that I have bought so fare that has a scale on it is my 24LII.

 

[Goldcoin79]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

 

[Buckster]

Hi all

Im hoping some of you may be able to give me advice on doing landscape photography.

My first question is regarding what apeture to set, I know you will want a large depth of field so would use a large f number (to give small apeture) but how do you chose what f number to use with out creating such a small apeture you cause diffraction?

My next question is what do you focus on for landscapes and does it matter, would you focus at infinity, a foreground object or any thing?

any advice is appreciated.

How large do you plan to print?

If you're making a 16x20 to frame and hang on the wall and using an APS-C DLSR then perhaps you don't want to go above f/11. But if your'e making an 8x10 or sharing this on the web then use any aperture you want... because at those sizes you wont notice that the camera is diffraction limited.

If you have a full-frame camera then you can get away with f/16.

If you focus at "infinity" then you're cheating some of the near foreground sharpness. The "hyper-focal distance" is the distance which maximizes the focused area for any given camera, focal length, and aperture combination. Once upon a time, lenses had depth of field scales on the lenses... which are not very common today with auto-focus lenses. But you can still use tools or websites such as DOFmaster.com to find the hyperfocal distance for your camera/lens/aperture combination.

^This.

If you want everything sharp, foreground to background, go hyperfocal. If you want the best clarity, go with the sweet spot for that lens, usually around f/11-f/13. A Google search will find web sites that can give you the recommended sweet spot for any particular lens, but some personal testing will determine the actual sweet spot of YOUR lens. You can combine the sweet spot and hyperfocal technique to get the best of both.

 

[jhightowe321]

Thanks all for the great info.

 

[bsinmich]

It helps the appearance many times if there is something in the foreground as well. My good shots have always had a foreground as well as the distance. My cameras and lenses all have DOF scales because I still use mostly film.

 

[groundloop]

^This.

If you want everything sharp, foreground to background, go hyperfocal. If you want the best clarity, go with the sweet spot for that lens, usually around f/11-f/13. A Google search will find web sites that can give you the recommended sweet spot for any particular lens, but some personal testing will determine the actual sweet spot of YOUR lens. You can combine the sweet spot and hyperfocal technique to get the best of both.

In other words go out and experiment. This is what's great about digital photography, it costs nothing to experiment and all your settings are saved with the photo. In the "good" old days of film going out to try something new could get very expensive, plus you had to keep a notepad handy to keep track of what settings you used. And yes, as for hyperfocal distance, do a search on that as there are quite a few good articles which explain it, as well as calculators which can tell you both the depth of field and hyperfocal distance for various settings.