50/50 Tips #2 - Is Shooting WIDE OPEN - RUINING your images?

www.DarrenMiles.com - Southwest Florida Portrait, Wedding, Family and Real Estate Photographer.
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[@TheIkaika777]

It always makes me laugh when people say, “I only shoot wide open“. 😂🤦🏼‍♂️

[@stevenkramer4263]

I usually pretend not to hear that clearly and say "pardon me" twice, or three times. They repeat that like a chanting lol

[@patricksmith2553]

Haha me too lol, however I do shoot wide open a lot of the time, but it depends on what I'm shooting. I am a Getty Images photographer and mainly shoot sports and breaking news, with a little bit of portraiture mixed in. When shooting sports, which I do a lot of, I always shoot wide open. I use two or three bodies and a 24-70mm 2.8, 70-200mm 2.8 and a 400mm 2.8 VR and always wide open. Now when shooting breaking news or portraiture I use plenty of different apertures depending on the situation, and I make sure to know the "sweet-spot" of each lens. I own three Nikon 1.4G lenses, the 24, 35 and 85mm and I know the sweet spot for sharpness is f4-5.6 on them. So when I need maximum sharpness I bump them up. Great video for the beginners!

[@TheIkaika777]

@SwitchRich6, exactly! 👍🏻

[@The_Idea_of_Dream_Vision]

Those are terrible fotographer relying on blurring background

[@cosmogang]

This is so true. Haven't used my f1.2 wide open in months. I stay around f4-f8

[@adventure_photo]

Totally agree and you made some excellent points! I’d also mention that another benefit of stopping down is you will not max out your shutter speed at 1/8000th of a second and requires an ND filter, plus electronic first curtain shutter will start to darken near the top of the frame and bokeh quality is adversely affected.

[@LazyScoutJace]

OMG I literally had this same exact conversation today with the "enthusiast photographer" know-it-all at my work - who wouldn't believe what I said. Gotta show him this!

[@vermontmike9800]

That intro line, lol.

[@davidwalker4084]

Another quality video from one of the best photography channels on KZbin. Others could learn much from you. You are clearly a successful photographer who used KZbin to help others rather than use KZbin to help yourself.

[@arthurrmcphee4885]

Great video and properly demonstrated with examples. Sometimes when taking portraits you also need to bring the person into their environment to establish a clearer story. The issues with out of focus backgrounds is that you could be anywhere as the background being so blurry doesn't establish context. In fashion it was always better to have some background in focus adding interest and also so that the client would have reason send you to another country and location for the next shoot! Otherwise it's back to the studio, lol

[@davidmcc6666]

Agreed, mate. Had an expensive Nikkor f1.4, but had better results at f2. Now have a Fuji f1.2 but still shooting at f2. Thanks, mate.

[@MrTShbib]

David McC666 I’ve got the f2 Fuji lenses for that reason among others.

[@davidmcc6666]

@@MrTShbib Hi, mate. Love my Fuji 35 f2. Thanks.

[@MrTShbib]

Daniel Spaniel you’re right, but I cant justify the price of the faster Fuji lenses since I’m just a beginner hobbyist.

[@polmacdhomhnaill3021]

You've not watched the angry photographers video on Nikkor lens?

[@TomasRamoska]

I almost never shoot wide open. I have Canon 85mm f1.4 L IS and Sigma 35mm f1.4 art. My favourite aperture on both lenses are f1.8 By stopping 2/3 of the stop image quality improves drastically but I still get plenty shallow depth of field on FF camera. Also I'm not big fan of crop cameras because you forced to shoot wide open if you want to get good bokeh and you always lose sharpness.

[@dianecrumbley90]

Great video! Thanks for this tip for this beginner!

[@EDHBlvd]

1 Dislike is from Square Space.

[@melvinch]

Always treat wide aperture as brightness assistance for both auto and manual focus.

[@leonmullingscreative]

Another reason is, if you focus and recompose using the center focus point, then shooting wide open will almost always produce a blurry picture.

[@ricecrash5225]

Really glad to hear this from a pro. I am one of these photographers who has ruined plenty of shots for being too wide. Great tips

[@BrianSDare]

Great thoughts! So many reasons to not shoot wide open all the time. There are plenty of times that bringing the background somewhat in focus (or all-the-way in focus) is a more interesting photo. My biggest reason to not to open up all the time are those times I’m taking a group portraits. If multiple people are in the portrait and are standing in anything other than a shoulder to shoulder line you could find yourself blurring people out of the photo who should be in it.

[@TheCallie52809]

Darren, you are absolutely right about this. It's a real pet peeve of mine when I hear people obsess about shooting wide open. Every point you made about this are things that I think about when I shoot.

[@brucekraft744]

Good points made. Thanks for posting. I always learn something from your videos.

[@chrissimmonds4383]

One of the best KZbin photo vloggers

[@jeffreywrightphotography]

Great points Darren. I'll add that another disadvantage of shooting wide open on longer lenses is that the background is so blurred out you lose all sense of the location. While that can have advantages in some situations it more often than not is a negative. Some photographers will take the time to go to a spot with an amazing view of something like the ocean or beautiful autumn leaves and then blur everything out so that it just becomes a blur of color in the background. They could have stayed in their driveway for that.

[@aristoioannidis7490]

Outstanding update Darren. Much appreciate it.

[@will1984f]

Great video, great content, perfect language. Thank you!

[@jscheib8252]

🙌🏻 🙌🏻 🙌🏻 Wish this video had been in my life last weekend. I did a studio shoot on Sunday and stayed in 1.8. Looked fine on the camera screen, of course, but the Mac said differently later. Oy.

[@richsmith9063]

Great tip Darren. Thanks !!

[@victorwong1685]

Thank you for your professional insight. Much appreciated.

[@gcarmichael]

Excellent video. Not brought to you by Square Space - Perfect!

[@ryans_life]

great video Darren. cheers

[@MrCochise71]

Excellent video. Exactly spot on.

[@ron3117]

Thanks, great tips to keep in mind.

[@jtes1442]

Great video . It does seem the last few years people have become way too enamored with bokeh to degree that it has become ridiculous . I’ve never had one of my clients say to me hey that background blur is not creamy enough .

[@snowdude1080]

This is very helpful! I'll try f2 on my sigma art!

[@andrewbristoe1833]

people may hate me but find blurry background so overused i wish could get clear image at long end of long zooms often cant bump the f stop enough to offset the background blur and usually have to grab the image fast talking mainly wildlife

[@b991228]

One of the problems with photographers, myself included, with always shooting wide open is that it is showing that there is a laziness or inability to at least sometimes utilize a deeper focus to include foreground and background elements in your composition. For many of us, the famous portrait photographers we look up to were not afraid to when necessary utilize the full depth of field of their compositions.

[@uptownphotography]

Good point Darren...

[@deckluck372]

Great advice. 👏 For any noob trying to understand this topic you should try shooting wide open a macro subject like a caterpillar. You will quickly understand depth of field as well as the back and forth movement effects.

[@shawnshing614]

Thank you for share this tip for us Darren

[@smkunder1]

Great tip, enjoyed that a lot!

[@Raychristofer]

What's up Darren, you've got a point because I've been shooting medium format film and I also notice when it's super bright and I'm forces to shoot f5.6 or f8 my images just look cleaner and sharper which makes sense, that being said for my talking head videos I do shoot f2.0 on my lumix 25mm 1.7 to get that separation but I am learning what you said is something to consider about overly shalliw focus.

[@christopherjhall]

Some very sensible advice. Keep it up

[@StephanEilert]

I usually buy fast glass because Im usually at its widest aperture. I shoot sports and some events that requires tons of light to perform well. Im usually at iso 6400 or more, so wide aperture lenses are a must for me. Im usually at it widest because I require the separation, but when I shoot video, Im usually at f4/f5.6

[@aer0724]

very informative.... ? how does this apply to canon"s 24-105mm f/4 L lens

[@djrbfmbfm-woa]

right on. cheers. j.

[@tonigrams]

thank you for this Video man.

[@Petesmotoadventure]

Good tips, thanks.

[@darrinbates6935]

Awesome video good job

[@EDCGadgets]

Focusing issues for portrait photographers will be slowly, but surely gone with the continous Eye-AF improvements, but I agree with everything else. Also it's important to add: there are specific lenses (The Sigma 85 Art is just like that), where the bokeh QUALITY improves as it is stopped down. It's not as blurry, but the highlighs will be rounder, and the general smoothness will be better. I really loved shooting my Sigma 85 at 1.8 in front of complex backgrounds for example.

[@zackchoy1969]

Great video !~ Thanks !~ Gonna start stopping down 1 stop from widest possible aperture....

[@mkhaliphilanga6784]

Great video 👏👏👏

[@mkhaliphilanga6784]

I am in pursuit of producing sharp photos..and have been researching... this video is going to be a great help.( And like the fact that you even gave examples) thanks again..... your efforts were not invain

[@noahwood8411]

I like this good practical content...

[@peterronchetti1736]

Great idea for a series, and as an amateur it's exactly the sort of content I need! One question: does exactly the same rationale apply in the M43 world, eg when using an M ZUIKO 75mm F1.8 lens? Yours from slightly chilly, windy, North county San Diego :-)

[@bdfrankmeow]

In the manual focus film era , i always shot at least 2 stops from wide open to be 'confidend' . Now, AF is pretty good and lenses have more elements to achieve better sharpness near open . Even on M43, i still shoot 2 stops on primes most of the time , 1 stop if needed and full open once a year.

[@lesath7883]

I have been trying to bounce down to a style of shooting that I feel comfortable in. After learning the basics of taking pictures back in the 80s, I finally bought a camera last year. I've bounced between the kit lenses and the DX 35 1.8 I got along to get a fast prime. I'm trying to get used to the prime. Currently trying to get a feel of apertures ranging 2.0 to 2.8, and.... As I said, I'm still figuring things out. Thank you for the vid!

[@lesath7883]

I noticed most of the comments skip ober the fact most lenses are sharpest when stopped down. That's something I hear quite often when aperture is mentioned. I know my prime is sharpest between 2.0 and 4.0. Also that it starts getting difraction starting at 3.5. Lenses are to photographers as swords to swordsmen, so are we not meant to know the strongest setting for our cameras and lenses?

[@davidponce1901]

Thanks Darren

[@hagarthehorrible1391]

New photographers tend to follow more of the KZbin and Instagram photographers rather than actual pros (who's primary job is not social media). I attended Joe McNally's workshop and except for a few images he never went faster than f4-5.6.

[@tebitan3780]

Errm, for normal shooting portraits, what do you recommend that the DoF should be? would 5 inch be enough to see something from the rest of the head (not just the eyes)?

[@DarrenMiles]

f/4... Your distance from the subject can alter your DOF as well. EG if your subject is 20 feet away, the DOF at f/1.4 is considerably wider than it is at 5 feet... Use the DOF Calculator that Iinked to in the video - it'll give you some ideas about aperture, focal length and distance from the subject to give you your best aperture for the look you desire.

[@clasijuls1]

thank you much

[@stefan_becker]

Yes, I agree that it usually makes sense to stop down a little to improve sharpness and autofocus reliability - especially if you use a DSLR. However if you're for example a Sony A7rIII or A9 shooter and switch to AF-C with activated eye-af, in my experience you can be pretty sure that you'll nail more than 90% of the shots even with an 85mm (or even 105mm) 1,4 lens at 1,4.

[@Needacreate]

Modern lenses with their often rounded apertures and/or increased number of aperture blades even facilitate slightly stopping down to combine pleasing bokeh and critical sharpness. I will sometimes not even hesitate to stop down two stops as that will usually give me peak sharpness and the viewer a sense of place/context, which they wouldn't get if everything was blurred beyond recognition.

[@jordanvenckus]

So lets say I want to shoot all of the portraits I take at F 2.2 just to ensure that everything is in focus that I want to be in focus. is there a difference in quality between turning an 85mm 1.8 down to 2.2 vs. turning an 85mm 1.4 down to 2.2?

[@DarrenMiles]

That’s a great question, I can answer it based on my professional experience, even stopping down a little will yield better/sharper results on both lenses. But if you want to get into deep technical analysis you may want to take a look at a site like optical limits or DXO Mark

[@robertcudlipp3426]

I have no time for this, seemingly new, concept of bokeh...In the days when you were shooting portraiths, head shots etc with film using ASA/ISO 64 Kodachrome, you clearly needed a narrow depth of field and also all the light you could get if shooting in less than sunny conditions I really do not know what this more recent fixation with "bokeh", or whatever other trendy tag you wish to add as a descriptor adds to what photographers have known and techniques that have been used for many, many years.

[@timrosenthal46]

That's a good tip .. I nearly always shoot my 1.8's at 2 or 2.2 and they still look great.

[@realamericannegro977]

I usually use the highest f stop but 2.8 is good enough for bokeh in my opinion. On this minolta af 35 to 105 mm it doesnt even have stops nowhere near tha high and i can get excellent sharp images with a blurry background

[@Ravencroft81]

I thought you were gonna say lenses aren't at their sharpest wide open. Your customers could have had a little more bokeh for their money! Just kidding, though some might say stopping down is lazy and you should just take more pictures if you have a low hit rate. For a professional I can understand workflow and time are essential and no client will ever complain about too little bokeh. Playing around with the Canon RF 50mm F1.2 BBF is pretty handy wide open and already tack sharp. So I do feel it'd be a shame to stop it down, especially cause all my surroundings suck and I want to blur that depressing film noir stuff out.

[@panopsata3038]

Well my XT3 focus points are pretty customizable so I hardly miss focus and I shoot long burst. But I agree though if I want a sharper image I would not shoot wide open when the situation allows it.

[@armacanqui]

Great advice as usual, but you forgot to mention that shooting at the widest aperture also increases the severity of Chromatic Aberration / fringing with high-contrast subjects and backgrounds/light :-)

[@Revup1]

Hi Darren. I completely agree with your assessment of shooting wide. But then I watched the next video that pops up, which is your take on 1.4 vs 1.8 lenses. A thought provoking take on the issue, particularly on the cost of a 1.8 vs a 1.4. However, there is something a 1.4 pro lens will generally give you bags of, over a cheaper 1.8, and that's bokeh, or pop, or whatever..... For years I used a Nikon 85 1.8D, and it basically wore out! So, considering the cost, I thought about replacing it with the 1.8G, but then discovered a 1.4D in mint condition second hand at the same price a new 1.8G. So I bought the 1.4D.....and yes I rarely shoot at 1.4, but the D lens on a 36mp body is stunning, much better than my old 1.8D, the quality of the backgrounds is wonderful, and that's in comparison to a lens that has a 9 bladed aperture (the 1.8D) where as the G series does not. I haven't compared the 1.4D to the new 1.8G of course, maybe that would be a better cost benefit comparison to 1.8G vs 1.4G. Your thoughts? was I right to go 1.4D over 1.8G. (it is a better built lens for all that!)

[@DarrenMiles]

Fantastic insights, thank you! The point I was making in the 1.8 vs. 1.4 video was from a clients perspective - I agree, that we as photographers can see differences between lenses (bokeh, sharpness, contrast, etc), but if you showed the same portrait taken in the same place with the same lighting with a 1.8 and a 1.4 lens both shot at f/2 to someone who isn't as into photography and gear as we all are, it's unlikely they would notice a difference in terms of results.

[@Revup1]

@@DarrenMiles Yep, its just the pixel peepers that notice the difference. I think that's the problem with me, and with digital photography. I don't remember being as demanding of my results in 35mm days....cost me a lot less then too! Stay safe and keep the content coming Darren. Blessings to you and yours.

[@bpcs63]

Spot on Darren for FF DSLR. Please do it again for m43 ML... the Oly 1.2 Pro Primes are excellent wide open and m43 has more DOF plus ML has more accurate AF than DSLR.

[@troyphillips1077]

I think we all do that at first. Then when you are hired for your first job and 50/50 of the pictures are in focus. I shoot live music photography in some dark dark places. I still have to shoot wide open a lot . This is why so many music photography pictures by folks have the clarity slide pushed up . Trying to create a hard edge somewhere

[@wanderingfool6312]

Agree, up to a point. But if you’re in sunny Florida shooting portraits with studio lighting and your full frame camera, it’s a little different to shooting Wildlife with an APS-C in latitudes with poorer light. Both in terms of light capture, noise and comparative depth of field. Your point still stands, just not as much.

[@rainerliebrecht4271]

Hello Darren, that maybe seemed right 5 years ago. But nowadays with Eye-AF and continuos focus the photographer and the subject can move and everything stays perfect in focus wide open though. Second, if you experienced very good glass like modern Zeiss you have to take a very super close look to see a tiny difference between wide open and closed down. So technically thats really not the point anymore! But in terms of composition and aesthetics i totally agree with you, its stupid to shoot always wide open just because you can. It bores me to see only blurry backgrounds as well. Best regards Rainer

[@rickvestuto]

Hey Darren I sold all my M43 kit and jumped into the Z6 and Z7 and the new native lenses are soooooo sharp i was thinking that maybe you would be the guy to look to for feature settings and example HowTo videos I know your a Nikon user and was hoping that maybe you trying out the Z system Thanks for all you do Regards, rick

[@mimstyle]

I agree even more with manual lenses

[@tomislavmiletic_]

(4:10) Just a couple of things: 1) You can use tripod to avoid body movement. Yeah I know it isn't the most practical thing in the world but it offers unmatched accuracy. 2) Focus and recompose is a pain in the butt with the lens wide open. Especially with mid range lenses. Don't do that, period. 3) Instead, you can use off center focusing points. And that takes 5D mk 1&2 out of the game, darn... 4) You can use live view on your DSLR. And if the camera is on the tripod, results can be amazing! That brings Canon's 5Dmk2 back in the game 😄 5) Or even better, use a mirrorless camera, which has focussing points all over, face and eye detection, focus peaking in manual mode etc. As a bonus, you can effortlessly use old manual vintage lenses. Just my two cents...

[@lifetimesofamultiplemediam1003]

No. 5 takes 5Dmk2 as well as mk3 and four back out the game…

[@tomislavmiletic_]

Life & Times of a MultipleMediaManager™ yeah I know but for those nostalgic people and for a folks who don't need or want latest and greatest and expensive, still kinda usable...

[@DarrenMiles]

I almost mentioned the part about the tripod - sometimes when you’re out in the field and you have to go from place to place, tripod isn’t always practical. However if you doing a single portrait in one location, then a tripod can and often does make sense

[@luissalazar2021]

I always use my tripod since the latest 90s kind I got used to it if I don’t I will missed it. But you’re right if you don’t have a tripod. 😎

[@zardosspinosa6944]

Maybe a disadvantage for M4/3 where you do need to shoot your portraits wide open. Although you would agree that Olympus 1.2 PRO is still sharp wide open, but at 1.2 can be too much light. At least with FF you can stop down. Which does bring up an interesting question. 1.8 on a M4/3 sensor with the correct shutter speed, will that actually give you the same exposure as 1.8 on a FF with the same shutter speed and the ISOs set at say 200. Something I have been thinking about.

[@jeffreywrightphotography]

Yes, exposure is exposure regardless of sensor size. Crop factor effects apparent depth of field but not exposure settings.

[@othomsen1]

Jeffrey Wright Jeffrey Wright ...actually it doesn’t affect the deep of field either, unless you move your feet. But maybe that’s what you ment when you said “apparent”.

[@jeffreywrightphotography]

@@othomsen1 yes, apparent because for the same focal length lens you would move your feet to get the same framing compared to that focal length on another sensor or film size and by moving you're going to affect your depth of field. Nothing to do with m43 though, the same would be true of switching between any sensor/film sizes.

[@othomsen1]

Jeffrey Wright Yeah, that’s what I meant. But why doesn’t have anything to do with M43?

[@jeffreywrightphotography]

@@othomsen1 I meant that the apparent change to DoF that comes from switching lenses to get the same composition when comparing systems using different sensor or film sizes isn't unique to m43. That is, you would deal with the same issue when comparing any two systems of different sizes. Going from 35mm to medium format would do the same thing. For example, if you were used to a particular composition using say, an 85mm lens on a 35mm camera and then switch to a 6x7 medium format camera, the angle of view you would now get would be roughly equivalent to what a 42mm lens would give you on a 35mm camera. In order to frame up the same composition on your subject (let's say it's a person) you would have to walk closer to them. But, now that you have walked closer to them the distance between the camera has reduced which will change the depth of field.

[@mikemoir2603]

Excellent points/teaching. And photography!. Easy to go too bokeh on the brain. What is supposedly the hallmark of the pro (fast glass shot wide-open) can become a mere repetitive gimmick. Used to shoot a manual Canon 800mm F5.6 (shooting primarily surfing) in the film era. Heard that at its nearest focusing distance (& wide-open) that lens had a depth of field of one inch. Point being,whenever I could drop down to F8-11,I welcomed it!

[@LordArioh]

I got Canon 50 and 85 f1.2, you can always stop it down if you need to, but I rarely want to. I pick them when I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be shooting wide open, otherwise I'll just take a zoom within the range f2.8 or f4. Tho I only shoot as a hobby, so I rarely care what anyone thinks of my photos.

[@Bredddi]

What’s the dreamy edm song at the end?

[@DarrenMiles]

It’s a song written by a friend of mine, Wayne Leinen jr. He’s written quite a few for my videos.

[@sandb1867]

The reasons to shoot wide open or not should be based on your artistic vision -- sorry if the sounds painfully cheesy. The problem with blown out backgrounds is you blow out the environmental context, which often adds a lot to the image. Also nose and ears are often out of focus. Don't be afraid to stop down or use wide angle lenses to do portraits.

[@philbrennan5940]

NOT brought to you by Triangle Space. LMFAO

[@bdfrankmeow]

Those new enormous , heavy and pricey primes exist to answer the obsession of sharpness and bokeh on current hi-res bodies ... but my wallet and my back prefer my PL 25mm f1.4 at f2.8 on my G85...

[@philipgowdy]

Wow.. So all those Videos by Bokeah BoooKa Bok Boys are all B.. Balls after all! Thanks for bringing back real Photography sense..Take any lens and you need F4 F5.6 to get the subjects head, Ears Hair and shoulders all sharp unless your repro is facebook size.

[@aengusmacnaughton1375]

Very good tips and advice -- but your video title made me think that I am going to burn out my retinas shooting wide open!!!!!

[@thewoodys_surf_instrumental]

Also whenever possible put the camera on a tripod.

[@martinsmyth5580]

God I wish I had your beautiful weather it’s always raining here in Ireland 😢

[@alwinbenjamin]

💯👏🏻

[@vermontmike9800]

BTW, did you drop M43 gear?

[@DarrenMiles]

Not completely - I shoot a lot in low light and I prefer full frame in general - still have all of my Olympus lenses, but no Olympus Camera bodies - only a Panasonic GH5 - which I still use for VIDEO - I want an em-1 Mark ii - not sold on the EM-1 X...

[@vermontmike9800]

Darren Miles well if you ever want to purge you collection of M43 lenses...just let me know (;

[@mallem1755]

Yes.

[@robertvarner9079]

What's Square Space?

[@victorcolon4451]

NOT a problem if you use Sony's EyeAF. So yes, I can shoot wide open, with AF-C, 10fps and nail almost every shot. That's the way I shoot weddings. If I shoot couples, yes I stoped down. If I shoot a group I stop down. I own lenses that are very sharp wide open but I only use 1.4 and 1.8 lenses to maintain the image quality. I don't use zooms.

[@aperez4198]

I understand your point, but at the end you admit that shooting wide open is fine if the maximum aperture is f2 of higher. I think your title should refer to the drawbacks of "extremely wide apertures". such as 1.4 or wider.

[@xray111xxx]

Bokeh! Blur has its place. But I play around with background to help the story. Aperture can help the story or leave out so much. I haven't shot portraits for pay or otherwise. I cannot afford the fast glass anyway. I am a cheap amateur, and I tend to stay around 3.5 to 5.6 allot but it can vary. I am not glued to bokeh. I am about in focus, and the story I want to share. Love your images.

[@TransCanadianRocker]

Funny, I have a site but didn't use Square Space. I must be a complete loser. Anyhoo, I agree with your take in this video and realized this a few years ago. The margin for error is sooo small, especially if the lens isn't stabilized and you don't have IBIS. By the way, I'm coming to you from cold....snowy, Gatineau Quebec!

[@Bredddi]

I also think that people are misled by referring to glass as “fast.” Every task I have to shoot ultimately will require a specific Aperture in my judgement. So why do people sit there and say “oh that lens is so so fast !” As if they are always going to shoot it wide open.... good luck shooting architecture wide open or a group of subjects wide open or anything that you want to enjoy the background. Even architecture at night still is not benefited by a 1.2 lens in my use cases because I have to shoot it at f5.6 regardless!

[@realamericannegro977]

Shooting wide open is kinda hard on manual focus without focus peaking

[@timchan334]

All the example pics had a far background (reason for the background blurr)....just wanted to point this out for beginners

[@WaniMedia]

That thumbnail lol

[@andreiwindstorm]

08:27 shot at??

[@DarrenMiles]

f/2 :-)

[@valentinosantana1605]

I only shoot stopped down ha!

[@kevindiossi]

The ONLY lens that I will try to never stop down is the Canon 135L f/2. Even at f/2.2 you can see hard edge aperture blades in the bokeh. LOL

[@sniperv]

First off, with Sony’s amazing Continuous Eye-AF, my hit rate is very high in a portrait situation. Just a thought. It’s unwise to hard line anything let alone always shooting wide open. I think it’s more about choosing the right aperture for the situation. I love bokeh and all the out of focus renderings just as much as the next guy and in many cases I can foolishly care about it more than the actual subject. Ive got all the typical fast primes and zooms just like most pros and enthusiasts but as I’ve matured in photography I choose the aperture for the composition. Yes, just about all lenses are sharper stopped down. My favorite portrait lens is my Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM and as sharp as it it wide open, at f/2.0 - f/2.8 it’s amazingly sharp. f/1.4 has a dreamy quality to it. That being said, many times when I choose f/1.4, it just blurs the background so much into nothing and it doesn’t fit the composition. I typically want some clarity of the environment, so find f/2.0 and f/2.8 are usually what I like at 85mm. In the end choose the right aperture for the image and don’t always shoot wide open simple because you can. Know why you chose it and don’t be lazy or ignorant about it. With that said, you are the photographer/artist so you can do what ever you want. YMMV