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what is best f-stop for portraits and why
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Jun 24, 2017 10:42:08   #
folkus
 
I take a lot of photos of people and am wondering if for individual people - from a depth of field point of view there is an ideal f stop to use as a starting point. Thanks so much for your helpful replies.

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Jun 24, 2017 10:55:18   #
seaside7
 
It all depends on what type of portrait you are doing. Studio or outdoors. Depth of field in a studio is not of concern, but outdoors it all depends on what effect you are looking for and you would set your aperture accordingly. In my studio I always et my exposure for f8 or f11 and focus was on the eye. Outdoors you have many different types of lighting to consider along with different backgrounds . Outdoors will you be shooting full length,3/4 or head and shoulders, one person or more. If you are seeking a single answer, there are none. MY suggestion is to experiment. I hope this helps. Good luck.

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Jun 24, 2017 11:07:58   #
folkus
 
Thanks, seaside7

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Jun 24, 2017 11:11:06   #
folkus
 
I was particularly thinking headshot only, single person, 3/4 angle, sunlight sufficient to not affect f-stop choice

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Jun 24, 2017 11:14:06   #
erinjay64
 
There is no such animal as "the best______________". Different apertures provide different effects. Some people prefer one effect, while other people prefer another. A head shot for a model's portfolio may be better with a softly blurred 'bokeh filled' background, for which the largest aperture (smallest number...f/1.4, etc) you can get may be "most preferred." For family portraits of loved ones on a once in a lifetime vacation, in front of recognizable landmarks-Old Faithful geyser, etc-you'd probably prefer a sharp background, which means a smaller aperture (bigger number...f/11, etc) would be more suitable. As a general rule, any lens is sharper a stop, or two, or more, in from it's largest than at it's largest. If you have a 1.8 lens, it will give sharper images at something like f/2.8, or 3.5, than at f/1.8. There are no all around, always, under all circumstances, universally "best" anythings...apertures, lenses, cameras, speedlights, or anything else. What is best under one circumstance, for one purpose, etc, is not best for another.

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Jun 24, 2017 11:15:32   #
joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois
 
folkus wrote:
I take a lot of photos of people and am wondering if for individual people - from a depth of field point of view there is an ideal f stop to use as a starting point. Thanks so much for your helpful replies.


In addition to what has already been said you may want a different look for a woman vs a man. No one setting will cover it all. Do what looks good to you and don't fret over it.

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Jun 24, 2017 11:19:10   #
folkus
 
Thanks erinjay64

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Jun 24, 2017 11:37:24   #
SS319
 
The classic Portrait lens was an 80-100mm f/2 or faster lens. this would give the capability to shoot at a comfortable distance from the subject and take the foreground and background out of the photo.

Assume you have that 80mm f/2.0 lens; set your composition first, then look at your subject using each of several f-stops and using the camera's DoF button (lower left at the lens flange on a canon) to see the DoF through the lens. Set your ISO to the lowest setting available - not automatic, nothing over 200 (ideally 50-100). Try and keep your shutter speed over 1/60 -1/100 to minimize camera and subject motion. I believe you will obtain the best portraits at f/2.0 - f/4. Watch your shadows and adjust your lights as necessary.

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Jun 24, 2017 11:46:10   #
folkus
 
Thanks for your helpful reply!

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Jun 24, 2017 12:02:57   #
Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY
 
I agree with the others, but the key is to look at portraits and decide which style or impression you are after either case by case or by developing a style you like. The classical photographic portrait was always with the aperture wide open (in those days perhaps f4 on a longish lens, 1.5 x focal length or 2x for head shot), primarily because film was slow and interior lighting was limited. As a result, the tradition became short depth of field (eyes but not ears so much) and a general softness (on the pretext of the flattering effect). Today we may still like the classical look (not necessarily Old Tyme styling in costumes or tint), but we are also accustomed to the sharp shooters in shopping malls or discount stores. To revisit the classical portrait, today we have to outsmart our equipment or modify it. But to copy the fashion photographers, the conditions are equally limited and limiting, usually involving staging and lighting--or waiting for the Sun to agree with us.

Purely for the question of aperture, the textbook portrait is around f4, but certainly can go somewhat over or under that. If a lens only opens to f5.6, you can compensate by getting the background father away, or messing with the lighting, but you can't take away the depth of field for the person with any degree of sincerity. Any book on photographic portraiture will illustrate the different lighting styles and techniques from which to choose. Most agree that the background should not distract from the person, but I don't think it must absolutely be absolutely unfocused. Ansel Adams famously defied gravity in his textbook, with a wide angle portrait of a woman surrounded by her beautiful garden (but still from the standard distance of about 8 ft.), standing and full figure. You can tell she would rather be nowhere else in the world, and that is what he wanted. The aperture was small, in broad daylight, so that everything is sharp--in black and white. (Some say he was no good at portraits.)

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Jun 24, 2017 13:06:12   #
folkus
 
Charles 46277- informative, helpful, and entertaining - Thanks!

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Jun 24, 2017 23:40:26   #
Doug52332
 
I agree with Seaside7. It depends on where you're shooting, and what you consider important in the shot. If you use a small aperture and the background is really sharp, will it detract from your subject? If so, you'll want to open the lens a stop or two. Lighting is also a consideration. Outdoors, it's better to risk a compromised subject than to have one that is washed out by overexposure.

In the studio, you would want to choose the f-stop that gives the sharpest reproduction of your subject, regardless of pose. If you have a willing subject, take some test shots, starting at f/16 at flash sync. Open your lens and repeat the procedure until you're satisfied with the results. I personally have used f/16, but I have also used f/8. Experiment now, so you'll have an idea what to use when you need to use it.

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Jun 25, 2017 01:25:24   #
folkus
 
Thanks Doug52332. I appreciate your comments.

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Jun 25, 2017 03:06:05   #
BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA
 
folkus wrote:
I was particularly thinking headshot only, single person, 3/4 angle, sunlight sufficient to not affect f-stop choice

Studio with natural light or outdoor natural setting? If outdoors, get a dof calculator.

Damn, I hate auto-correct sometimes; original post indicated dog calculator.

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Jun 25, 2017 05:22:31   #
blackest Loc: Ireland
 
folkus wrote:
I take a lot of photos of people and am wondering if for individual people - from a depth of field point of view there is an ideal f stop to use as a starting point. Thanks so much for your helpful replies.


Maybe take a look at flickr for portraits and see what you like. Most photo's have the exif information which should give you the numbers used.
You also need to take note of the sensor size. The angle of view will differ, 55mm on a crop sensor with a factor of 1.5 or 1.6 is around the same view as 82.5 - 88 mm on a full frame. Keeping the subject the same size in the frame will also make a difference to the depth of field by around a stop in aperture for aps-c and 2 stops for m43.

e.g
Full Frame 85mm f4
aps-c 55mm f2.8
m43 42mm f2.0

Should be fairly similar looks. But shutter speed will also change if the light is around the same you might want to use an nd filter.

For a monolight the nearer and larger the light is to your subject the softer the light but it gets brighter the nearer it is to your subject. mine has a 4 stop power range. So at minimum power it still may need an aperture with more dof than i want, an nd filter or perhaps a cp filter could slow down the exposure. Sharpness is not necessarily desirable in a portrait in the eyes almost always yes but do you want to show every skin pore every fine hair?

you can do a little adjustment in post -10 in clarity will soften the photo -20 -10 on saturation on the red and orange channels will take away some of the redness in the skin and make your subject look a bit less of a drinker. Of course what you choose to do depends on what you are trying to achieve.

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