How To Get Sharp Subject And Background?
Q: I’m using a Canon 60D and 50mm f/1.4 to take portraits but I want both the background and subject to be sharp. I’ve tried raising the aperture lens, but the background becomes blurred. I try not to go over ISO 320 to keep my images from being too grainy but it’s hard to keep my subjects still for that long. Help!
A: Depth of field requires a smaller f-stop, there is no getting around this. A different lens will not affect this at all. Whether you’re shooting 35mm, 50mm, or 100mm, you’ll need to shoot past f/11 before you can even hope to get your subject and background in focus. Most of this will come down to having enough light on your subject in order to achieve a reasonable shutter speed to shoot past f/11. If you don’t want ta direct flash look, we suggest using either a fill flash or a reflector. This will allow you to light the subject from a vantage point that isn’t from your shooting angle. This will make the subject look much more natural and allow you to shoot with a much smaller aperture.
Check out our video on depth of field for examples.
Be sure to take what you learn and share with us on our photo critique page.
Question submitted by Joseph G.
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