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Create More Interesting Photos By Using Maximum F-Stops
I think photo books and photo magazines may have done too good a job of telling everyone that you should always stop your lens down from its maximum aperture or f-stop so that you gain the best quality from your lens. While it is true that on a very arbitrary level, the maximum f-stop of your lens (such as f/2.8, f/4 or f/5.6) is not the sharpest aperture, that might not be important. In addition, a lot of outdoor photographers think they have to shoot for maximum depth of field, but I think as photographers we have to think about the photo’s needs, not an arbitrary use of f-stops.
After all, when was the last time someone said, “You know, this photograph is not very good. It was shot at f/2.8 and not the preferred f/11”? If you carry this to extremes, you will end up shooting with a very limited range of f-stops (because the smallest f-stops such as f/16 or f/22 are not as sharp, either), and that can be very limiting to your nature photography.
I am going to suggest something radical, something that goes against much of your reading and study of photography. Try shooting with your lens at its maximum wide aperture! Use f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6 — whatever number is the smallest number with your f-stops on your lens (the smallest numbers are actually the widest f-stops).
This is a trick that pros use all the time and is one thing that separates the look of their images from amateur work. I love to use this effect for close-ups, but it can also work for people at close to moderate distances.
The way to really get you going with this is to give yourself a self-assignment that forces you to shoot for a morning, for example, only using the widest f-stops of your lenses. This will immediately do several things that offer you some great visual looks:
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