But it’s also affected by the length between the camera lens and subject, and even your camera model. In manual shooting, aperture controls depth of field. Pam Bradford, CLG Instructor Camera Settings For Group Photos – Where to Start Related: How to Photograph an Extended Family Session Related: Posing Guide for Beautiful Family PortraitsĬonversely, this extended family with far more people than the image above, was shot at f/4.5 but everyone is in focus because they’re sitting on just 2 focal planes. The deeper your group of people, the more depth of field you need to get them all in focus. This family was photographed with an aperture of f/ 5.6 because they’re sitting on roughly 3 separate focal planes. So when taking photos of groups with people several deep, other than using the best lens for group photos, you also need a deeper depth of field to ensure everyone is in focus from front to back.Īnd we adjust that depth of field by closing down the aperture (increasing f stop number). Outside of that focal plane, you will see a gradual reduction in focus, in front and behind the subjects. on the same focal plane!Īnd here’s a real life example… a family of four all sitting pretty much at the same focal plane, shot at f/2.8 and all in sharp focus. ![]() In this graphic everyone would be in focus regardless of aperture range because they’re all standing next to each other… ie. Whether the group was 2 people or 50 people! The question is not how many people, but how many people DEEP!īecause the issue here is depth not width, or focal plane in photography speak. So this means if you’re taking a large group photo and every person is standing side by side in a straight line, and you were standing directly in front of them, they would all be in focus at a wide aperture. When you focus on a subject everything to their side is on the same focal plane, and will also be in focus. I get asked this question often by people trying to get their camera settings right and choosing the best lens for group photos, and the answer is not what you’d expect! Now let’s imagine our beds are the heads of an extended family grouped together! We want to ensure all our people in a group will be clear and in focus. When we increase the f stop to f/8 (also known as stopping down or closing down the aperture) we have more beads in focus behind the bead that we focused on. You can see in our beads example below… at f/2 (known as a wide aperture ) we have only one bead in focus. The size of aperture can range from small aperture to maximum aperture with many variations in between as we open up and shut down our lenses … see our very technical diagram! Unlike a large aperture, a narrow aperture of the lens is used when we take a photo where we want to get everything from front to back to be in sharp focus, such as a landscape image. larger aperture area of focus in front of and behind your subject) Narrow aperture = high aperture of f stop number (eg. We use wider aperture for blurry background s, such as an image of a flower or person and then everything behind it is out of focus. small area of focus in front of and behind your subject) Remember aperture range is measured in f stops : Wide Aperture = low f stop number (eg. How much depth of field you have is controlled by your aperture setting. Related: What is The Exposure Triangle What Is Depth of Field?ĭepth of field is the area of focus in front of and behind the point where you focused (that would be your subject!). It refers to the physical opening of your l ens, and is measured in f stop (eg. Sarah Croker – Click Love Grow Graduate What Does The Aperture Do?Īperture is one of the three elements that controls exposure in your camera, while also affecting your depth of field. To help you get all the answers, in today’s post we’ll have a closer look at what aperture is, so that you can confidently decide which one to use next time you’re photographing a large group of people or shooting landscape photography. “ When would you use a 1.4 aperture ? ”, “ How do I know what aperture to use ? ”, or “ When would you use low aperture ?” are some of the questions I receive most often. ![]() In order to get everyone in a focus point, we need to use a narrow aperture, but then we lose our blurry backgrounds! And this is where people run into difficulty, when it comes to selecting the right camera settings and choosin g the best lens for group photos. You need to be shooting in manual mode to get those blurry backgrounds on purpose! So if you’re not, familiarise yourself with the exposure triangle and jump in!īut if you are shooting in manual mode, then you’ll know you need a wide open aperture to get those blurry background s.
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