Why We Shoot "Wide Open"

In today's Video I try to explain why many photographers shoot at their lenses widest aperture
.Nikon 24-70 f/4S - amzn.to/3qgbaRf
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​Nikon 50mm 1.8S - amzn.to/3c4hOoD
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​Rokinon 135mm f/2 - amzn.to/2PFgtx9
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​Rokinon 8mm Fisheye - amzn.to/30g7moF
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​Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 Sport - amzn.to/3qp0rE5
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​Video Gear
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​Canon EF-M 22mm stm lens - amzn.to/2C5TOj3
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​Canon M mount EF-EFs Lens adapter- amzn.to/2SInt93
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​Sigma 56mm 1.4 - amzn.to/2Sk6yMo
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​Canon 11-22mm - amzn.to/31LlO88
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​7Artisans 7.5mm Fish Eye - amzn.to/37nP99G
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[@1noyk]

Great points, terrific delivery!

[@BillEricPhotography]

Thanks! 👍

[@justone4619]

Very clear presentation. Thanks! New sub.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Thank you!

[@gijoeljamesmaldonado]

I'm new at photography and your reasons was real world for me at my Family Easter Party, blew my mind.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Happy to help!

[@BlueLion364]

Great points Bill. I always shake my head a little when they gig a lens for being slightly out of focus in the corners. When do you ever put the subject of your picture in the corner. "No one puts Baby in the corner!" 😊 The corners are usually in your periphery which you can't focus well anyway. However, you did bring up the great point of architectural photography. I hadn't thought of that. Also, your camper has the nicest living room I've ever seen.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Ha, that's funny. It's actually very comfortable inside It's like pulling around a little house. I agree unless you're blowing a landscape images or doing architectural stuff I don't think it matters much.

[@jimwlouavl]

Good points. You have an engaging presentation style. I’ve realized recently that it takes a little experience with a new lens to see how much depth of field it has and how the background looks. It takes a lot of experience for that to become baked into one’s mental firmware.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Thanks Jim I appreciate that! I think the more shoot in general you'll know what you should get from certain lenses and apertures in a given situation.

[@grat2010]

Good question and thanks for such a thorough answer.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Thanks for watching!

[@DuragVince-]

Hey, great video. Question for you: Why would you need to put an ND filter on to use 1.8 when you can increase the shutter speed? Wouldn’t that be the same or does the ND do something different? Thanks

[@BillEricPhotography]

Sometimes even with a shutter speed is fast as one a thousandth of a second you are still letting in too much light. The ND filter is like a little insurance plan so that you don't overexpose your images even by mistake.

[@paulk329]

Great vlog Bill.📷👍🏻

[@BillEricPhotography]

Thanks Paul!

[@lovemycity420]

Great video

[@BillEricPhotography]

Thanks!

[@JohnArmwood]

Excellent presentation and easy for anyone to understand. I really enjoy the videos you guys put out. I am curious about the name change on the channel. Did Disney claim copyright infringement?

[@BillEricPhotography]

No, we just thought it made more sense to have photography in the title. We really don't talk much about Disney on the channel. It really is just a photography channel.

[@firemannss]

Great question and great answer! Softness @ wide open and diffraction stopped all the way down, it's physics of a lens at the extremes. The wide open = more Bokeh, and the softness is mostly hidden. (unless you're looking at light points as bokeh and you'll see the shape change as you go toward the edges. Look at a lens tested for astro and the softness of stars at the edges as an example) Bill stated it perfectly that you're wide open for a reason...separation. Want more sharpness, then you pay for it. Or get a high MP sensor and crop the edge softness out.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Great info thanks

[@MrGregorSF]

Wide open and shallow depth of field let’s you define the focal point of the photo, your wife or the front flower. Closing down the lease puts everything in focus, which is often desired for landscape or architectural photos like Spaceship Earth or the Mexico Pavilion.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Exactly right, thanks!

[@davidtrachtenberg7095]

I have a sigma 30mm 1.4 for my m50. What ND filter would you recommend?

[@BillEricPhotography]

I use a 6 stop. I also have a 3 stop. 10 is very dark. Don't get a variable.

[@theflyest203]

Love the shirt!! Where did you get it?

[@BillEricPhotography]

I bought it on the street in Manhattan. It was a guy that prints them himself in his apartment.

[@cdesfusa]

You, basically, rock

[@robo2606]

It all depends on the photography you do. Landscape and architecture is nearly never shot at full open. Then we want a great depth of field.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Right, I totally agree.

[@jhoang861]

commercial fashion and product too. 👍

[@BillEricPhotography]

I think a lot of the big name KZbinrs should a lot of portraits and things like that. That's probably what Alex was talking about with his question.

[@rookie208]

I though a bird was trying to get in your window then realized it was the TV lol. I get the whole blurred background thing and some pictures I prefer that way but….there are some people that push it too far at times. I’ve seen some in FB groups that can’t afford those expensive (I know, not all are) lenses get dejected and don’t share their pictures as much because they think the pictures are bad because there’s little blur. A lot of KZbinrs say “shoot with what you have, it doesn’t matter as long as you just shoot” but then on almost every other video they promote bokeh like it’s the end all be all in photography. And they generally take a big crap on kit lenses and such. (Thanks for not doing that btw). I recently took some new baby photos for a family and I’m extremely happy with my first baby session, however the one thing that bugs me is one hand was always out of focus because I was shooting at 1.8. Her eyes took my attention away pretty fast but still, you know how easy it is to get frustrated at your files and nitpick the details lol.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Definitely, I think a lot of it is the photographer. If you know what you're doing you can make a nice image with just about any camera and lens. But a wide aperture definitely creates unique look but it can be unforgiving. Really there's a time and place for both types of shooting. And you definitely don't need on 1.8 lens to make nice images.

[@tangled6931]

when i use my Canon 50mm f/1.8, I get pronounced vignetting. I understand that's common with this lens so even though I would like to use it wide open, I typically do not. It's disappointing.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Of you’re using Lightroom to edit, it’s a very easy one-click fix. Lightroom has a database of lenses and will automatically correct for lens issues like distortion or vignetting.

[@harleyrider9166]

@5m45s. I bet you can’t shoot that 24-70mm at whatever aperture you want..LOL. How about f/1.8😜 Just joking. Remember some people on here will take your every word literal so be careful how you say things, especially for your beginners audience.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Not sure what you are referencing. I'll have to watch this again.

[@joes2828]

Simple. If I’m spending $1500 on a 1.2 or 1.4 lens, doesn’t make sense to constantly shoot at f4. Best believe I’m gonna be shooting at it’s widest.

[@BillEricPhotography]

Yup that’s what you’re paying for!

[@Dustyphoto915]

But it’s a whole lens with like 8 other available apertures. Doesn’t it make just as little sense to not use those aperture’s just as much?

[@BillEricPhotography]

You can get those other apertures in a much cheaper lens. Or a zoom lens like a 24 to 70. Really any lens that has the same focal length going through it. The only reason to spend that kind of money on a lens like that is for the widest aperture.