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.95 wide open for group portraits?

nowherean

Member
I don't think it would look good since you'd need all the people to light up on the same plane. Then you'd have a flat photo with a nice bokeh, but nice bokeh is not everything.
 

Zlatko Batistich

New member
If getting people in focus matters, then it's simply a bad idea. Of course one can try it for fun or for artistic purposes, but it's pretty much guaranteed to make some members of the group be out of focus. Depending on their distance to the camera and the depth of the group, some may be very out of focus. You would have to have them aligned ever so perfectly to get them all in focus.
 

250swb

Member
It may be fun to try if you only wanted to concentrate the image on one person in the group, with them in focus and the rest out of focus. But I think the psychological message of a photograph like that would be along the lines of alienation and separation. Choosing an aperture for a photograph is as much about the message you want to get across as it is of technique (maybe moreso). So if all the people in the picture are important, and you don't want them all lined up in a perfect row, stop the lens down to f/11 and they will all be important (except those right at the back or the one you need to clone out because he was picking his nose :)).

Steve
 

Y.B.Hudson III

New member
yehh... shoot it with a gXr m-mount. With focus peaking you can arrange the noses to match the curvature of field of the lens...:ROTFL:
 

d.clin.design

New member
if it's a group with small kids, best of luck. I have yet to get the kids in focus on any .95 wide open group shots...
Like what other say, it's a fun exercise nevertheless!!
 

ohnri

New member
More than once I have shot a spontaneous 'group' photo of 2 or more with my Noct at f/1.

Although they have looked fine on my M9's crappy LCD I have never been happy once I print them.

If people will only ever see them on your M9 LCD with it's worse than P&S resolution then I say go for it.

If you plan on sharing actual prints larger than one and a half inches on a side then stopping down will make people think you are a better photographer.

Best,

Bill
 
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