Shoot Wide Open

[PeterToronto]

I love the look of a shallow or narrow depth of field. Everyday mundane objects shot at maximum lens aperture take on a sort of mysterious feel, and have a magnetic quality about them. For myself, it doesn't matter if it's a portrait, a landscape, a macro shot, or even a still life, I just can't get enough of shooting fast glass wide open. I almost feel guilty moving that aperture ring anywhere beyond f/2.

There are a number of practical and artistic reasons for welding that aperture around f/1.2 or f/1.4. For one thing, a shallow depth of field can help to tell a story by directing the viewer's eye to what is of primary importance in the image. A shallow depth of field is also an effective means of washing away a distracting background, or a cluttered foreground for that matter. Furthermore, in many instances, a shallow depth of field serves to provide a more visually compelling image. Often times, images created with this technique look as if they were dreamily or wispily painted with a brush, as opposed to clinically recorded on a digital sensor. The end result often produces what can best be described as surrealistic imagery.

An often quoted suggestion in photography circles states that it's all about "f/8 and being there". Well, if you want to try something different, or if you are looking for that creative boost, or if you want to separate yourself from the point & shoot camera phone generation of image makers, how about this suggestion: "exercise your creativity and shoot wide open."

If you found this interesting or helpful, there's more tips, ideas, and thoughts about photography on my website.

Peace
Peter

peter anthony PHOTOGRAPHY - Home

 

[Flash Harry]

Ridiculous. Many subjects need depth of field, its knowing when/why to use whichever and the control of DOF that makes a photographer. H

 

[KmH]

"f8 and being there" has been a truism of photojournalists since photojournalism began.

Suggesting it is applied in all photography circles is very short sighted, and could even be construed by some as misleading.

Unfortunately, many use shallow depth of field in a way that confuses and detracts from the story an image could tell.

 

[travistank]

I have mixed opinions on this, I agree the shallow DOF can give a very dreamy and creative perspective to a photograph yet I cant image when f 1.2 would ever need to be used in a set up portrait, unless you were doing an ad for fake eyelashes and wanted only those in focus haha. Yea even more ridiculous is the 1.0 glass.

 

[gsgary]

A landscape shot at F1.2 won't be much of a landscape will it, sorry your post is BS

 

[Overread]

Ridiculous. Many subjects need depth of field, its knowing when/why to use whichever and the control of DOF that makes a photographer. H

^^^This.

+2!!

I've seen fantastic macros done wide open, fully closed down and heck using focus stacking - each has their own look, feel and creativity and not one is more or lesser than the other for the aperture used.

 

[AlexL]

Ridiculous. Many subjects need depth of field, its knowing when/why to use whichever and the control of DOF that makes a photographer. H

^^^This.

+2!!

I've seen fantastic macros done wide open, fully closed down and heck using focus stacking - each has their own look, feel and creativity and not one is more or lesser than the other for the aperture used.

^^ +3

If photos are meant to be shot at wide open all the time, whywould we even have other f settings? (except when it is too bright!)

 

[Infidel]

I didn't really get the feel that the OP was preaching to shoot wide open all the time. To me, it had the vibe of opening beginners to new possibilities, or perhaps just stating what is obvious to so many on the forum, which is that large apertures yield shallow DOF, which can be used creatively. Also had a "I'm trying to get people to read by blog" vibe to it.

 

[DennyCrane]

Most lenses aren't as sharp at either end as they are in the middle and outward from there... meaning your f/1.2 Nifty Fifty might get it's best tack-sharp shots closer to 2.2.

 

[dhilberg]

Obviously both shallow and deep depth of field has their places. You're probably not going to shoot a landscape at f/2, and you're probably not going to shoot sports at f/11 (unless you're panning).

In the words of one well-known sports photographer: "I didn't buy a 400mm f/2.8 to shoot at f/8."

 

[Early]

Obviously both shallow and deep depth of field has their places. You're probably not going to shoot a landscape at f/2, and you're probably not going to shoot sports at f/11 (unless you're panning).

In the words of one well-known sports photographer: "I didn't buy a 400mm f/2.8 to shoot at f/8."

Tru dat!

On a side note, although I love those shallow DOF shots, I often find them overdone. But that's a different subject, though, isn't it?:lmao:

 

[Petraio Prime]

Ridiculous. Many subjects need depth of field, its knowing when/why to use whichever and the control of DOF that makes a photographer. H

^^^This.

Yeah, that's why even fast lenses stop down to f/22.

 

[smokinphoto]

You’re right about the soft blurry backgrounds in portraits – in most cases they are a great way to highlight your main subject and get rid of any distractions in the background.
There are a number of things you might like to try. I’ll start with the easy ones:

Positioning of Subject​

One of the easiest things you can do is position the subject you’re wanting to photograph as far away from any objects behind them as possible. If they are standing right in front of a wall you’ll probably end up with it in focus no matter what else you do – but if they’re standing 100 meters in front of that same wall it’s going to be a lot more blurry. Of course this will only get you so far – you’ll need to do some of what’s coming next as well.

Portrait Mode​

The Canon EOS 20D has a little wheel on top of it (on the left) with lots of little icons on it. One of those icons is a little head. This icon is the symbol for portrait mode and if you’re not confident with changing apertures (we’ll discuss this below) it’s a good mode to switch to as it will do some of the work for you. Portrait mode chooses a large aperture (a small ‘f’ number) which will make the depth of field (the amount of your shot in focus) smaller. ​

Aperture Priority Mode: Aperture Priority Mode is a great way to control depth of field as it will ensure your images are well exposed.

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous switch the wheel to ‘A’ which is Aperture Priority Mode (go on, you can do it). I’ve written on this mode before but to recap – this mode lets you choose the Aperture (the size of the hole in your lens) and tells the camera to choose all the other settings. This semi-auto mode is a great way to control depth of field as it will ensure your images are well exposed. For shallow depth of field and nice blurry backgrounds choose a large Aperture (the smaller the number the larger the aperture). Try taking a few shots at different apertures and see how it affects the background of your shots – this is the best way to learn how to get more creative control in your shots. ​

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[Alpha]

Look up Toshihiro Oshima if you want to have your life changed by shots from a Noctilux permanently stuck on f1.0. He goes by Tommy Oshima on Flickr- just google him. As someone who has shot 4x5 at f2.8, I can attest that it's addicting and beautiful in its own way.

 

[THORHAMMER]

Shallow DOF is fantastically cool, but so is shooting a oil refinery at 12 midnight at 17mm @F14. Different tools for different jobs. Both are worthy jobs.