What Aperture should you use?

It is not as simple as 'wide open for portraits' and closed down for landscapes' - give it some thought and make sure you get the best results.
Get Your Gear Out!
Workshops: mattgranger.com/workshops

[@cuuppaajoe]

Freaking brilliant. I’ve been an amateur for so many years and this never really clicked for me. Mostly because I’m not a landscape photographer. Thank you so much Matt for really increasing the quality of my photos just from this. Love your videos. New subscriber!

[@billfromelma]

Great instruction on basics that I keep forgetting! I'm sure I'm not alone. Good job , thanks.

[@mattgranger]

great to hear, thanks Bill

[@dangernba]

Every photography tutorial should include this lesson. Very, very useful. Thank you.

[@FatTonyCologino]

Take your tripod when shooting landscapes anyway ...you can always use it as a walking stick or to fight off wild animals!

[@drdcjoshi]

Good idea

[@arturwachowski6827]

or pervert...if you a girl : )

[@johnmichaelbanaag265]

Genius!

[@mejbishow5297]

@@arturwachowski6827 thanks dude,now i have weekend plans

[@MiguelBorgesphotography]

@@mejbishow5297 lol

[@Viti]

Am I the only one fixated on the wifi antenna on his forehead?

[@samyulsyed6741]

Can't unsee. Couldn't even watch the video. Fucking dead.

[@connerashton7425]

Why would you point this out... Now I'll never be able to watch the rest of his videos. You're a monster lol.

[@paulfresh]

bro! LOL

[@jorgesan18]

I was just going to say that lol

[@millieflower]

hahaha, i just noticed it

[@DavidKasan]

Once again, I come across one of your older videos, and in just over 4 minutes, you dispel decades of what we "thought we knew!" Thank you for sharing your vast experience and equally vast wisdom!

[@MinhDangbui_Asopi]

Thank you Matt for the great video! This made me rethink how I compose my photos whenever I look through the view finder. Before, I would always turn the Aperture as large as possible. But now, I will definitely think about what I want in focus and what I want blurred out. Thank you for the time and effort you put into making this video!

[@gentlegnt]

gosh Matt you're really really know your stuff. your understanding of the details and art and Science of photography is amazing to me. thank you so much for the contribution you make to all of us beginners and I'm sure seasoned professionals as well keep doing what you do inspires me to get better every time

[@DanilMorini]

Its always pleasing when somebody explains things in an interesting and clear way, talking about experience-related facts. These are the most educational ones. Congrats, very nice speech.

[@victorrivera6375]

I really appreciate the manner in which you explain the information you're looking to convey. . Great suggestion to test out the lenses and familiarize oneself with their gear. . Thanks Matt. .

[@louiscalvert1431]

Yesss, needed this. Tryna learn about all this, just learnt about Aperture and it seemed there was only point in using the extremes but I knew I probably shouldnt be. Thanks!

[@padraicreid1234]

Brilliant! Thanks for that. I was beginning to think that one of my grandson's eyes was naturally blurry. This saves me on doctor's fees and improves my photography.

[@kourikage]

Ah finally, this makes sense. A lot of explanations of aperture seem to miss this and it can get confusing for a beginner very quickly when we try it out.

[@naderm1396]

Fantastic video, greatly needed clarifications. Thank you Matt! I really appreciate this.

[@Dave196989]

Nice video Matt. Thanks for taking your time to help us that are learning on the run about our cameras and photography. Its people like you that have helped me along the way the last 5 years or so to get where I am today. I have always thought that to get the photos completely in focus I needed to use the Highest F/Stop possible and I had a gent telling me that that's not always the case. So I am on a mission to see where my lens are at their best.Thanks again, great video and I am now a subscriber as well.Dave

[@therealjonnybratwurst]

Right on Matt! Thank you for this video. I was a long time FRO viewer, but have lost interest in what he puts out lately. This was concise valuable information that is great to learn and be reminded of regardless of skill level. It's easy to settle into a routine and forget that we have options... Thanks again.

[@skizmic]

Thanks for the tips, Matt! I love photography and am just starting out. I appreciate the help!

[@jb678901]

Excellent instruction. That made a lot of sense. I'm new to photography (for an old guy) so this kind of intro to the basics is right on target. THX.

[@michaelweichhardt]

The sweet spot for most lenses for landscapes is F5.6 - at this point, the lens is mostly at its sharpest point and has the least amount of vignetting nor diffraction. Shooting landscapes with F1.4 is definitely not recommended.

[@thomaswentworth6433]

This surely depends on the focal length of the lens? Longer lenses you can shoot more open and shorter ones the aperture can be smaller.

[@brianhayes260]

Great work on this vid. Clear, concise, and to the point. Excellent reminder of the basic principles of photography!

[@sanjeevbhagwat7251]

Wonderful Summary & busting of myth of having always a high number of aperture for landscape shots & low number aperture for portraits. Very well explained Matt Granger. Loved this one. :)

[@Wastelander13]

I once messed a series of portraits of my Dobermann because I shot at f2.8 with a 200mm lens. His eyes where in focus but his nose. ( Its about 10cm from a Dobermann's nose to the eyes.) i think I should have used at least f5.6 or maybe f8 to get a good result! Thank you for the video!

[@fotostar2573]

short video and to the point, thanks Matt !!

[@uptownphotography]

Good points Matt....I have my Sigma ART 50mm 1.4 and usually like shooting at f/2.0-f/2.8 depending on the distance and situation...

[@dovidell]

I take into account the sweet spot on my lens- rarely do I use the fastest aperture on my lens , especially not the kit lens that came with my camera - also , bracketing your exposures gives you ( exposure )options , although it does eat up room on the memory card . Using the depth of field preview button ( what's that ?!!!) , will help you gauge what is in , or out of focus

[@koolgk]

Thank you for explaining the aperture so well

[@donyee5987]

I always learn something new watching your videos. I'm an old fart with old film gear. My old Canon FD lenses from the 1980s have depth of field scales which I use. Keep up the good work!

[@andrewkerr6928]

Brilliant... Thanks so much... I have been messing up so many shots trying to stick to the rules rigidly... Got a crop sensor with a full frame Tamron 24 - 70mm 2.8 lens which already hinders my novice knowledge but really thanks!

[@louisemiller1399]

Thank you for this! I'm a photography student and for some reason it's taken me ages to get my head around aperture

[@siambibrian]

Fantastic tutorial Matt definitely something to try out as I have been struggling with some not so sharp images and realizing when am done shooting haha

[@ad9898]

Great advice, great delivery Matt.

[@BrentLoe]

Really great info regarding the aperture for landscapes.

[@MasticinaAkicta]

Definitely.. it is smart to know WHAT effects DOF and where to use it. Great video

[@TaylorHuston]

When I first got my 50mm 1.8 I went overboard. Went to an event and shot everything as wide as could because ERMAHGAWD I LOVE BOKEH! Got home, booted up lightroom and like 90% of the photos were unusable due to bad focus. *facepalm*

[@Tzadeck]

I got into cameras with mirorless, the OM-D E-M5, and some people look down on m4/3 because you get twice as wide depth of field for the same aperture (i.e., if you shoot at 1.8 the DOF is like 3.6 on a fullframe). But even despite that, on a 45mm f1.8 I made that mistake all the time--I shot a whole lot of images with not enough in focus. Took me a lot of practice to realize when I needed to pull out the f1.8 and when a higher number was more appropriate.

[@drdcjoshi]

Unfortunately I got 50 mm 1.8/D and its manual focus on D5600, now I am dissatisfied as lot of struggle is done on focussing and not getting advantage of autofocus.

[@TheJudge064]

@@drdcjoshi my favorite technique is to open live view, zoom in 10x, try to get as good focus as I can get, then spray and praying, while moving the focus ring very lightly

[@400mile4]

Made this mistake

[@99muddy99]

I bought a 50mm f/1.2gm and 100% of photos from my first shoot were more unusable than yours.

[@rossmiller4823]

Great video, thanks for the info. I had been using a low f-stop for landscapes because they seemed to look good that way, I usually use about a 5.6 or at most an 8, but now I understand a little more why that is and how it works. Thanks, Matt

[@chrishorner3954]

A genuinely helpful and informative piece. Many thanks.

[@stimboi]

Cool Tip matt! Never really thought it that way! Thanks alot..

[@danielzee]

Never thought of that, thanks for the advice.

[@wanneske1969]

So true ! Dof doesn't only depend on the f-number but also the distance to the subject and the focal length

[@GetOutsideYourself]

Artistically it's also good to consider just how much detail you want in your background. When shooting environmental portraiture for example, it's important to give context, but without distracting from the main subject. So some blur is good, but totally blown out is not. If your camera has an aperture preview button, it's great for the purpose of dialing-in the desired blur quickly (on my a99, can be done through the EVF).

[@AlvinLuMusic]

Definitely agree that we stop down too much but sometimes we're just pushing for longer exposures and it's harder to get that sweet 2min exposure during golden hour at 1.4 without some heavy nd

[@bryansnell]

Such a helpful video Matt, thank you!!!

[@BirekothAlephMotivation]

Thank you so much Matt. You have just declutterred all our minds from all these mystified information we’ve been getting that we barely can seem to process.

[@nlmal4]

03:56 That is a very good tips their "take the time to know your gear". Thanks

[@imSaicat]

Thanks a lot especially for the advice on landscape photography. ☺👍

[@prestonlhouse]

Very well done! Clear explaination.

[@yodadoesart]

This this so helpful because I do exactly what you were saying not to do. Thanks great info always.

[@JBeverstockPhoto]

I tend to shoot my landscapes no further stopped down than f8. Generally this gives me plenty of depth of field t 17mm and I don't run into the diffraction issues presents when stopping the lens down too far. As for portraits, that comes down to an artistic decision of what I actually want in the shot.

[@khengteoh4318]

I am starting to experiment with shooting stopped down a little (F4) for portraits instead of 1.4

[@CalTek]

Good tips. Using Canon 80D w/ Sigma 18-35 1.8. Loving the 1.8 and am overusing it....need to remember to bump that to 4 and try that. Appreciate the info and reminder.

[@PostColorGear]

Another great video!! This is why I never understand why people go gaga for the widest apertures. Yes, I understand the camera performs better stepped down and if you are already starting at a real wide aperture (it will be sharper at a wider aperture than a different lens - let's say f4 compared to f2.8) and yes, I know it allows more light in the camera, but really, whats the point if you are taking pictures and the person is 10 feet away? As you said, I find that most of my shots are either f4, 5.6 or 8, depending on the subject.

[@kevindiossi]

Great video. This is something I've tried to explain to people several times about shooting some landscape I've shot at f/2.8. Definitely "get your gear out" and learn the ins and outs of focal length and focus distance. You can't learn it in a video or with an app. It takes years of working behind the camera.

[@a2zadi]

Is 2.8 quite good for landscape? I want overall sharpness in the landscape pic... I am a bit confused whether wide aperture will discriminate elements within composition (i.e. focus too much on certain elements while blurring others)

[@LCVoss]

very helpful video and easy to understand. thanks!

[@EveshkaGhost]

Good video, thanks! It's interesting to learn the extremes, and then move onto knowing the balance. Although I used to shoot wide open because of low light, I always try to close it just a bit, because I am aware my lenses (samyang cine) aren't that great wide open, and I have to pick an eyeball often!

[@lukewassell9774]

Just discovered your channel. Thank you KZbin recommended videos, you actually did good for once!

[@warrengh5647]

Excellent food for thought there Matt.

[@adamrasmussen3521]

Great! This was exactly the confirmation I was searching for.

[@michaelsullivan7987]

Good point Matt glad I watched this

[@oscarsmee7737]

great advice I never considered shooting more open for landscapes I'm usually between f8 and f16 and always carrying a tripod with me!

[@123vandrax]

does a tripod help you get good shots cant you bump the iso to get a higher shutter speed with say f11 and go handheld with image stabilization at iso 100

[@CristianStancu]

Great advice, in these times when most people shoot wide open and often get soft shots or miss the focus

[@dorjon6121]

Very useful reminder. I have ruined many a head and shoulders or face portrait for having too wide an aperture in use. Where possible, I try to have the background a long way distant and this deals with the issue of rendering it nicely softened.

[@Twobarpsi]

Great advice! I have learned that tip as well.

[@justinbassan]

Great video, just what I needed as a novice photographer!

[@canturgan]

You could always press the depth of field preview button or use live view to check.

[@AndykSuper2]

thanks....felt like throwing my camera away today...started taking photos 'properly' earlier this year with an old DSLR. I'm getting better with portraits but landscapes are hard. looks like In was stopping down too much. Thanks.

[@ibtesamsiddiqui8016]

A really good informative video. Thanks !

[@skakdosmer]

My last analogue SLR had an “A-DEP” setting. You would first focus on the nearest part of the subject and press the trigger, then focus on the farthest part of the subject and press the trigger, then compose the image and press the trigger a third time, and only then a picture would actually be taken, and the camera would have selected an aperture that would give you the right depth of field (if possible - otherwise you'd get a warning). Not something I used often, but sometimes quite practical.

[@crudestinkyjoe]

Thanks Matt for the tip

[@syoukhan]

this will actually be very helpful for my portraits thanks a lot!

[@agogobell28]

You should also mention diffraction.

[@mhoppy6639]

Great video. Really clear. Thank you. Subscribed.

[@peter293]

Extremely useful video! thanks for that

[@jesuisravi]

Thanks Matt

[@richardleroux9349]

Really helpful easy to understand. Thanks

[@magnusclaesson5843]

This was EXACTLY what I was looking for, tnx!

[@JamesWilliams-qw8on]

good info here. not sure if you can provide the same info with more examples but it be great to SEE the differences your pointing out for us newbies

[@cb14011970]

best explanation yet for me, thank you!

[@fussylawncare4675]

Thanks Matt, very helpful.

[@tilago]

You got me thinking, thanks!

[@TravisFowlerphotography]

Thanks Matt, very helpful

[@FjbLivesAgri]

Thank you for details

[@russellfernandes9607]

Thanks Matt. Well explained 👍

[@EvilDogFilmsOfficial]

Wow dude this is really cool information, thank you, never saw it that way

[@skruffy79]

Thanks Matt!

[@KaMingMak]

It is a great video. Very useful information.

[@RobertoVivancos]

always good to go back to basics !

[@Rizrael]

Thank you, very informative and helpful 👍

[@WonderingTree]

Ahh so helpful. I was always under the impression that blurry portrait backgrounds uses 1.2 and i wpuld always have trouble focusing the whole body

[@solidstream13]

thanks Matt great explanation.

[@david111davies]

Thats one of the good things about using just one prime lens. You can make your own custom DOF chart at every aperture and distance in meters. Then use a laser rangefinder to know the distance and you will know the exact DOF in front and behind the subject at any aperture. Obviously its only if you have the time but you get the idea

[@shtoinky]

I know from personal experience and looking at other photos when I can find it the settings max settings rarely are best. Max zoom, max aperture, max iso

[@dmt99vn]

why shoot landscape @ F/1.4 ? in landscape shooting, we need corner to corner sharpness and contrast picture. They say F8 to F16 is good F number for landscape shooter. Portrait is around F4 to F5.6. And F/1.4 to F/2.8 when you have busy background and you need to blow it away

[@iamrichlife]

+David Duong I'd also like to know the answer to this

[@panh141298]

+David Duong More light for handheld shots probably? You don't always have the time or energy to carry around a tripod. If he's using the high-res 800 series from Nikon, I'd imagine he'd be keeping the shutter speed and ISO as low as possible in order to minimize blurring and noise, in which case he'd need to compensate by using f/1.4 or f/2.8. Even through KZbin, the landscape that he took at f/1.4 looked extremely clean, perhaps not as sharp as with f/4 and above (which I like better) but still bloody sharp.

[@dmt99vn]

Phan Anh Nguyen 1/100 is more enough to shoot landscape handheld. Agree this 1.4 picture is clean and sharp, but its require a very good len

[@JackReynoldsCreations]

+David Duong Like he said in the video, it is all a matter of your own gear and what you're using. If you don't have the great lenses that just means you will be more likely to have to use a tripod for the longer exposure

[@goldentrowel1968]

Thanks for the great tips

[@johnpearson9336]

Another good informative video cheers

[@goswo]

Really relevant info. Thanks.

[@andreaacme]

Nailed it spot on Matt :) I couldn't possibly agree more.

Great video. Good reminder.

[@iwrite4HIM]

Thank you for the information!!

[@goldfish1871]

very informative (without being boring!!!) :) u just got a new subscriber

[@imagingconcepts]

Your giving us just enough depth of field in this video to know I want to be at that beach... Hope your having a good trip!

[@mattgranger]

haha - Venice beach in LA

[@Urlaubsziele-finderDe]

Very helpful - thanks!