Why f/8

Discussion in 'Photography Beginners' Forum' started by tjones8611, Mar 9, 2010.

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  1. Mar 9, 2010 #1
    tjones8611

    tjones8611 TPF Noob!

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    Last weekend, I had my first experience in a studio sighting. All kinds of lights, including boxes, huge portraits, over head, and large ring lighting. ItÂ’s a whole new world of photography with models in a studio. But my question, this was a workshop and the instructor instructed us to set our cameras at 1/250 f/8 and ISO 100 for the shots as it would ensure everything was in focus and no bokeh affects. How did he know this? We were all Canon thus the ISO, but why f/8 when you have the best lighting available?
    I've heard "just f/8", but why 8?


     
  2. Mar 9, 2010 #2
    kundalini

    kundalini Been spending a lot of time on here!

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    There's no reason NOT to shoot at f/8. The sharpest aperture of most lenses will be in the f/8 (+/-) range.
     
  3. Mar 9, 2010 #3
    Big Mike

    Big Mike I am Big, I am Mike Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Some people will tell you that F8 is optically the 'best' aperture for most lenses. Some people say that most lenses are at their best when stopped down one or two stops from maximum. Some might say say that it totally depends on the lens in question.
     
  4. Mar 9, 2010 #4
    syphlix

    syphlix TPF Noob!

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    in your case it's prob the level the lights were set to...

    in flash photography your aperture alone controls the level of light from the flashes while ambient light is controlled by the combination of aperture and shutter
     
  5. Mar 9, 2010 #5
    Dao

    Dao No longer a newbie, moving up!

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    More DoF, better performance on most of the lens. And it is in a well controlled environment.

    But I do not know about the 1/250 shutter speed since your XS has a flash sync speed of 1/200.
     
  6. Mar 9, 2010 #6
    JimmyO

    JimmyO TPF Noob!

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    Becuase thats the most logical exposure for studio lighting
     
  7. Mar 9, 2010 #7
    gsgary

    gsgary Been spending a lot of time on here!

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    1/250 is too high, i use between 1/60 and 1/125, if you fire your camera without the flash your screen will be black showing no ambient light
    I went to a camera show yesterday and on the Phase One stand they were using the new Phase One camera that can sinc at 1/1600
    they took a shot of a dart imploding a baloon
     
  8. Mar 9, 2010 #8
    tjones8611

    tjones8611 TPF Noob!

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    I think 1/250 was the max for the lighting. I guess I assumed each lens would have a different sweet spot, just as the level of sharpness of the same model of lens can vary.
     
  9. Mar 9, 2010 #9
    Big Mike

    Big Mike I am Big, I am Mike Staff Member Supporting Member

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    That's the idea of using such a fast shutter speed, to cut out all the ambient light. That way, the studio doesn't have to be dark while you work in it.

    If the flash doesn't fire, the shot it trash anyway, who cares if you get a little bit of ambient?

    Good point. And depending on your trigger method, you may need/want to slow it down another step just to be sure...which brings us down to where gsgary likes to shoot. :er:
     
  10. Mar 9, 2010 #10
    KmH

    KmH Helping photographers learn to fish Supporting Member

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    Because to get the image scale with a lens that has enough focal length to avoid distortion, you cannot get the subject far enough away from the background to warrant a smaller aperture to render a substantially out-of-focus background.

    I notice many people are now using the term bokeh when they talk about depth-of-field. They are not the same thing and the terms are not interchangeable.
     
  11. Mar 9, 2010 #11
    gsgary

    gsgary Been spending a lot of time on here!

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    The max sinc speed for your camera is 1/200 so your shutter is not quick enough for the flash, which means your shutter was still open after the flash had finished so one side of your shot should be dark
     
  12. Mar 9, 2010 #12
    Bitter Jeweler

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    My instructor had us shoot at f/11 and 1/125. ISO 100.
     
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