| Question Home |
Position:Home>Visual Arts> What f stop do i need to use?Question: What f stop do i need to use!? for my photography class i need to take pictures of horizons!.for example if i took a picture of a house then the horizon needs to be in the picture and the house can't be the main focus!.the horizon needs to be the main focus!.what f stop would i use if i wanted the horizon to be the main focus of the picture and not the house!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Use a large aperture ( small number ) and focus on the horizon!. If you use a small aperture then everything will be in focus including the house!. Aperture is used to control the depth of field!. Large aperture means that only a small area is in focus, a small aperture gives a large depth of field where everything is in focus!. I would experiment around and change the fstop until you get the effect you desire, don't forget to change your shutter speed to get a good exposure!. Every time you change the fstop one stop you need to adjust the shutter speed one stop!. For example f11 @ ss 1/200 is the same thing as f16 @ ss 1/100, the only difference is the depth of field!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Yeah, I would try to get everything in literal focus!. Just don't make the house/tree/seagull the subject of the composition!. It's unlikely to look 'good' if something isn't actually in focus!. Here is an example - http://www!.reachus!.net/images/LCR%20-%20!.!.!. It isn't technically a horizon because there is land in the way, but the trees aren't the focus of the photo even though they are dominating!. Here - http://7art-screensavers!.com/screenshots!.!.!. the boulder is an important part of the composition once again, but it yields to the horizon!. Like a supporting character in a story!. In contrast, here the house is more the focus where the horizon is moved into secondary importance - http://www!.learnnc!.org/lp/media/collecti!.!.!. P!.S!. I forgot to mention the F-stop!. It doesn't matter if you're far back enough to have everything in focus when set to infinity!. Though F/16 is generally the sharpest aperture!. Considering you're doing landscapes, a tripod plus long exposure are probably a good idea, so a small aperture won't matter and you can use 50 or 100 ASA film without worry!.Www@QuestionHome@Com If you are focused on the horizon, a lot of the foreground is also going to be in focus, regardless of the f-stop!. I think you need to take "focus" in the sense of attention here, rather than its optical meaning, and see to it that there is something interesting about your horizon!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Something large, which means a small number!. I don't know what your lens is so I can't say exactly, but if it has f/3!.5 on one extreme and f/22 on the other, use f/3!.5!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |