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family portrait settings
- Thread starter sss809
- Start date
vachaspati
New member
Above all - don't open it up all the way! f5.6 and be there.
Shoot RAW to make sure you don't blow it, especially
if you don't know how to meter properly. Use evaluative
metering.
Shoot RAW to make sure you don't blow it, especially
if you don't know how to meter properly. Use evaluative
metering.
Caoedhen
Veteran Member
What sort of weather are you expecting? Bright sun and f/1.8 don't get along well, without ND filters. Your depth of field will also be very narrow, and you may not have everything in focus that needs to be.
There is an old rule of thumb, called the 'sunny 16' rule. As a starting place, to shoot in daylight, you set your aperture to f/16 and your shutter speed to the ISO in use, as in 1/ISO. If you are using ISO 100, that would make your shutter speed 1/100th second, or the closest setting you have. With digital, it is easy to see how this comes out, and adjust from there.
If f/16 gives you too much depth of field, you can open the lens and increase the shutter speed to obtain the same exposure. So if you opened the lens to f/11, you would increase the shutter speed to 1/200th of a second. This would give you the same exposure as f/16 at 1/100th. If you follow the progression, adding one stop of shutter speed for each wider stop on the lens, you run out of shutter speed before you run out of aperture.
If this is all confusing, and it is at first, you could set the camera to "P", program shift. The camera will make the choice about aperture and shutter to obtain a correct exposure. Check the result, and you can then adjust the aperture or shutter to suit your needs.
There are several good resources available in a library or online, to teach you the basics of exposure.
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Crime Scene Photography
dylanbarnhart
Veteran Member
The 50mm f/1.8 should never be used wide open. It's very soft there. Sharpness starts at f/2.5. Lucky for you, you'll be in daylight, so you'll have plenty of light for more (which means smaller aperture) than f/2.5.
The 50mm is not very wide for the entire group of 4 people. Might want to bring along the kit lens, just in case there isn't enough room to back up.
If the sun is bright, you'll need fill-in flash to brighten up the shadows on people's faces.
The 50mm is not very wide for the entire group of 4 people. Might want to bring along the kit lens, just in case there isn't enough room to back up.
If the sun is bright, you'll need fill-in flash to brighten up the shadows on people's faces.
I'm no expert, but I'm happy to share what I think I know…
How much room will you have? Unless you want a very tight shot you will need some distance between you and the subjects to get them all in with a 50mm lens on a 1.6 x crop camera. If you don’t have the room a wider lens (even the kit) may do the job better.
Will they all be in the same focal plane? i.e. parallel to the camera? If not, you will need a larger depth of field to get them in focus. Don't bother with F1.8.
I would suggest you shoot in AV mode at F4 (which is normally a sweet spot on this lens) with ISO100 to start.
If the shutter speed is too low (depends on your handholding skills, but I would say aim for at least 1/100th to avoid camera motion blur or subject movement) increase the ISO to 200. You shouldn’t need to go any higher than that at F4 in daylight. Focusing on the eyes is generally best. If you're shooting the group and they are at differing distances to the camera, focus 1/3rd of the way into the zone to get the best depth of field in focus.
Also try some shots at F8, especially if you are not sure about the depth of field. Again, watch your shutter speed.
Shooting RAW gives you the most latitude for changing white balance and tweaking exposure afterwards.
Morning or evening sun is best - harsh midday sun is generally worst for portraits.
My apologies if I’ve got any of the terminology wrong, but I know what I mean!
Cheers.
Gallery http://www.apbc84.dsl.pipex.com/
How much room will you have? Unless you want a very tight shot you will need some distance between you and the subjects to get them all in with a 50mm lens on a 1.6 x crop camera. If you don’t have the room a wider lens (even the kit) may do the job better.
Will they all be in the same focal plane? i.e. parallel to the camera? If not, you will need a larger depth of field to get them in focus. Don't bother with F1.8.
I would suggest you shoot in AV mode at F4 (which is normally a sweet spot on this lens) with ISO100 to start.
If the shutter speed is too low (depends on your handholding skills, but I would say aim for at least 1/100th to avoid camera motion blur or subject movement) increase the ISO to 200. You shouldn’t need to go any higher than that at F4 in daylight. Focusing on the eyes is generally best. If you're shooting the group and they are at differing distances to the camera, focus 1/3rd of the way into the zone to get the best depth of field in focus.
Also try some shots at F8, especially if you are not sure about the depth of field. Again, watch your shutter speed.
Shooting RAW gives you the most latitude for changing white balance and tweaking exposure afterwards.
Morning or evening sun is best - harsh midday sun is generally worst for portraits.
My apologies if I’ve got any of the terminology wrong, but I know what I mean!
Cheers.
Gallery http://www.apbc84.dsl.pipex.com/
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