Before I start typing away about practicing taking photos and the sweet spot for your lens, I have got to update you on Edith! It rained most all day yesterday and was so gloomy I kept checking the clock to see what time it “really” was. I know plenty of great mothers, but I’m here to tell you that Edith deserves recognition too. Raindrops floating on top her feathers, she sat right there in the middle of the driveway nursery oblivious to the nasty weather conditions. Edith… I hope your offspring appreciate that.
Sooooo, are you still practicing taking your photos in Tv mode? Me neither! Again, I rarely use that setting in particular and think it’s time to move on. I figure it’s about time we hit on finding the sweet spot lens setting that results in sharper photos.
After practicing both Av and Tv camera settings, you already know that there are times you are going to want to open that aperture right up to minimize your depth of field – and there are times you’re going to want to close it down to maximize your depth of field. You already know the effects are great, but did you know that sharper images are easier to get with mid range aperture?
It’s all about spherical aberration causing an image to blur and I’m guessing y’all don’t care about that… you just want sharper photos. Right? Every lens has a sweet spot in terms of getting optimum sharpness (usually around f8 or f11). So stop right now and do a Google search by typing in the model number of your lens and “sweet spot”. That’s where you want to practice… if you’re playing along at home.
A good rule of thumb to go by is to remember that portraits are customarily shot between f1.4 and f5.6 to limit depth of field so the view focuses directly on the subject. And, landscapes are generally shot with a closed aperture so almost everything is in focus.
Not every opportunity you have to take a photo has to be thought of in terms of depth of field, so in situations where it isn’t a concern, practice shooting on that sweet spot for your lens. You’ll get some amazingly sharp photos!
