SMALLER APERTURE FOR MULTIPLE SUBJECTS

Usually for wildlife photography, I prefer to keep my ISO low (200), and have my aperture as wide as possible to allow for the fastest shutter speed I can get. The combination of a telephoto lens with a wide open aperture also produces a shallow depth of field, helping to isolate a single subject. But what if you have more than one subject in your shot?

These two ospreys were not the same distance from the camera – the one on the right was about a metre closer than the one on the left. With my usual settings, focusing on one bird would put the other out of focus. So this time I went for a different combination of settings. ISO 800 / F-10 / 800th/sec.

The smaller aperture (F-10) increased the depth of field enough to keep both birds sharp. But that would also darken the exposure requiring a slower shutter speed. I needed to keep the shutter speed up so I increased the ISO to 800.

This kind of attention to your basic camera settings makes a huge difference to your photography. It’s why I teach my students to shoot in Manual mode so they have total control over all the settings that matter.