When you use a wide angle lens for an outdoor portrait, as I did here in San Marco Square in Venice this morning, you create an environmental shot in which you show context for the subject. In addition, you now have two subjects, not just one. When you use a telephoto and blur the background, the subject stands out and competes with nothing else in the frame. This is a one-subject image. But a wide angle shows two subjects -- the foreground element and the background -- and therefore they both need to be sharp. You can make both of them sharp by (1) using a small lens aperture like f/22 or f/32 (nothing less), (2) moving back a few steps from the foreground, and/or (3) using a wider angle lens. My settings for this picture were 1/20th of a second, f/4, 25,600 ISO, 24mm focal length, and a Canon 5D Mark III. I hand held the shot.
2 Comments
Feb 1, 2016, 1:56:39 PM
Jim - Hi Rosemary, Thank you for the compliment, and that's a great question. The answer is it depends on how dark it is and how fast a shutter you want and how much depth of field you also want -- if any. If it is very, very dark, you probably need to use all of the parameters. But each situation will be different. However, just knowing and understanding the factors involved give you the tools to produce the kind of image you see in your mind.
Feb 1, 2016, 12:13:48 PM
Rosemary Sheel - Love this! The pose and the subtle background colors make the subject stand out. Her head and the light color of the lower wall lead right to the doorway. Nice! My question is do we need to use all of the parameters you provide or just choose one? ( wide lens, move back and smallest aperture)?