Photography lingo
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- rodzilla
When someone says to shoot "wide open" what does that mean?
What does shooting wide open help you achieve?
Excuse my ignorance please :)
- utopian0
Wide open = largest aperture = smallest number
- mnmlst0
Shoot at the highest possible aperture for that lens. A larger aperture gives you a shorter depth of field. This is generally referred to (more often anyway) with 2.8/1.4 lenses etc.
- Oh, and high aperture = low number.mnmlst
- ...and more light comes in so quicker shutter speedProjectile
- JSK0
- ThePublics0
wide open = spread eagle = meat curtain detail
- vaxorcist0
F1.8 or F2.8 or whatever the "widest" aperture is on the lens.... i.e. the smallest number, but since Aperture is expressed as a ratio, the "smallest" means the "largest"....
So.. F1.8 is a "large aperture" but a "small number" to confuse newbies....
Using a lens "wide open" usually means the least depth of field, the most critical focus, and often slightly darker corners, less sharpness in the corners and sometimes a slightly hazy look.
Stopping a lens down 1 or 2 stops means shooting an F1.8 lens at something like F4, where it's likely to be sharper and contrastier and have more sharpness in the corners, as well as slightly more depth of field...
Consumer zooms are usually F4 to F5.6 or so, so using them "wide open" is often done too often, they are often pretty sharp at F8 to F11, but there is often not enough light to do that and still get a reasonable shutter speed and ISO without noise....
- Miguex0
I like how everyone was so quick to say "aperture" but I would have to ask, what kind of photographer said it first.
Because if it came from the porno industry, it means something else.
- bigtrick0
"wide open" means you unzip your fly so the model has something to look at.
- Ambushstudio0
It could also mean to shoot with a wide angle lens... it could.