One thing I think about a lot is how to use my camera to its full potential. We don’t want our photos to look like regular phone pictures, especially since phone cameras often struggle with bright light. That’s why the camera settings we choose are important.
Aperture
I rarely use f/5.6 to f/9 on my camera. For landscape photos, I use f/11 to f/22. For street photography, I want some separation from the background. I often use f/1.8 to f/2.8 on my prime lens. If f/5.6 is my go-to setting, why don’t I stick with the kit lens?
Here are some examples of using f/4 (the maximum aperture) on my 16-35mm lens in bright daylight. The goal is to create a different look than a phone photo. I enjoy playing with the focus range.
Focal Length
If I treat my phone as a backup camera, it acts like a wide-angle 24mm lens. This affects the lens I bring with my camera. Most likely, I would pair a portrait lens with it.
With a longer focal length, like 70mm, I can also create a shallow depth of field, just like in this flower photo.
Minimum Focus Distance
Did you know that every lens has a minimum focus distance? For example, if you stand just 1 inch away from a 50mm lens, you will be out of focus. The minimum focus distance for the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is 0.45m. For Sony 85mm f/1.8, it’s 0.8m.
To maximize depth of field, place the subject at least 0.5m away. This way, you can get a blurry background (especially with an f/1.8 aperture). If the subject is 5m to 10m away, the shallow depth of field effect will be reduced, no matter how wide your aperture is.
Here are two photos, both captured with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. The depth of field is drastically different.
In the second photo, the subject is too far away from the camera and close to the background, there is no subject-background separation.
Sunstar
Another way to use the camera to its full potential is by capturing sun stars.
Sunstar enhances the beauty of a photo and creates a strong focal point. The good news is that it requires a small aperture f/22 and you can do it with your kit lens.
Pay attention to the direction of light. This technique is called backlighting, where the sunlight comes from behind the subject. The light rays stand out if you can partially hide the sun at the edge of the landscape.
