 John Gill |
Group Portraits Hi, if I wanted to take group portraits of maybe 10 or so people, how would I make sure I get every face in focus? I use a 35mm camera. Should I just use a larger f/stop to give me a bigger depth of field? Thanks
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Leo Enriquez |
An aperture of f/16 or f/22 will make it, and of course the use of a wide angle lens like a 24mm (I have a 19-35mm and works great!...
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John A. Lind |
John, Be cautious when using wide-angle lenses for group portraiture. Avoid getting anyone's head near a frame edge, and especially near a frame corner. It can create very unnatural perspectives of people's heads and faces. The wider the lens, the worse the effect. I use nothing wider than a 35mm lens (for 35mm film format) and I'll use a 50mm if I can back away far enough. At the kinds of distances you're working with, going to a wider lens and moving closer gains nothing in depth of field. Your depth of field is affected more by subject magnification than by focal length. Magnification is size of subject compared to size of subject image on film. Shifting focal lengths and moving camera position to keep them the same size in the viewfinder will not change depth of field appreciably (if any). A bigger depth of field is desirable, but try to keep it stopped down no more than f/11, with f/16 as a maximum. At f/16 and tighter, especially with many wide-angle lenses, "diffraction limiting" occurs and lens resolution degrades. The effect is caused by diffraction of light through a small lens aperture which causes it to spread out. The "sweet spot" with resolving power for most lenses is between f/5.6 and f/11. Control group depth by keeping it to no more than 3 rows of people, and don't wrap them around in an arc. Keep the overall grouping straight and aim the camera lens perpendicular to the grouping. Rectilinear lenses are designed to provide sharp focus on a flat plane perpendicular to the lens axis. The critical focus distance is the distance along the lens axis from the camera to that flat plane. (Nearly all camera lenses are rectilinear, the other type being "fisheye" lenses). -- John
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