Are you wondering what aperture for street photography? Aperture affects not only shutter speed and ISO it also affects the area that will be in focus. So let’s dig in for an answer.
What aperture for street photography?
The aperture for street photography is f/5.6 and f/8. That’s the short answer, but this does not take into account what light situation you are in and what you want to do. F/5.6 and F/8 are loved by street photographers because of the large depth of field, and there needs to be enough light too.
A quick primer on aperture
Aperture refers to the opening of the lens. The larger the opening the smaller the number, so an aperture of 1.8 is wide open while f22 is pretty darn closed:
When the aperture is OPEN more (like f/1.8) the depth of field is very thin, great for making backgrounds blurry. But when the aperture is CLOSED (like f/22) the depth of field is large.
A more sober answer
So while f/5.6 and f/8 are great apertures…what if you want your background blurry and there is not enough light? Then a higher aperture will be in order. F/5.6 and f/8 are the apertures that strike a balance between having a lot of depth of field and still have enough light come in so that the shutter speed is fast enough. Because things happen fast in street photography and you don’t want a slow shutter peed to ruin your shots.
What aperture for street photography? Conclusion
There you have it. The default aperture for street photography is f/5.6 and f/8. But it depends on if you want a large depth of field or not, and if there is enough light. If you are reading this, you are interested in street photography, right? Here’s something to consider: While the technical is important, it is also PLASTIC. There is no correct aperture for street photography 100% of the time, it just depends on the situation and what you want to do.
While the technical is important, there are way more important aspects of the craft, like composition and the emotional aspect. If you want a step-by-step method to make stunning images, check out my street photography course.
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