What is the best aperture for landscape photography? I often receive this question via the CaptureLandscapes newsletter or from aspiring photographers in the field.
This is a more loaded question than you may think, and the answer isn’t as definite as expected.
You see, there isn’t one specific aperture that’s optimal for each and every situation. The distance to foreground and background is just one of the factors that play an important role in your decision. Subject and creative vision are two more.
Step one is to find your lens’ sweet spot, the aperture in which you achieve maximum sharpness. Let’s take a closer look at this before moving over to the situations you want to use it.
What is the Lens’ Sweet Spot?
If you’re just learning about aperture, it might sound confusing that the sharpest aperture depends on the lens you’re using. The best aperture for my equipment might not be the same as for yours.
Note: In this article, we’re talking about overall front-to-back sharpness, not Depth of Field sharpness. When referring to the sharpest aperture, I’m referring to the point in which the overall image is at its sharpest. I recommend reading our Introduction to Aperture in Landscape Photography for further understanding of this subject.
The sweet spot of a lens is the aperture that produces the maximum sharpness. It is located two to three full stops from the widest aperture.
For example, the sharpest aperture of the Nikon 16-35mm f/4 is between f/8 and f/11. A faster lens, such as the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, has a sweet spot between f/5.6 and f/8.
Since the majority of professional lenses have the widest aperture of either f/2.8 or f/4, you’ll often hear that the best aperture is either f/8 or f/11.
So, look at what the widest aperture of your lens is and use that to calculate the optimal aperture for overall sharpness. Next, place your camera on a tripod and take some test shots to compare.
The difference between a wide and narrow aperture is humongous. Let’s take a quick look at what they are before we jump to the TL; DR and answer what the best aperture for landscape photography is.
Note: Zoom lenses with variable apertures are slightly more complicated as the sweet spot changes based on the focal length you use.
What is an Open Aperture and When Should You Use It?
One of the questions I’ve received about using open apertures in landscape photography comes from newsletter subscriber Kevin:
“I am somewhat puzzled when I read about professional landscape photography where they use fast lenses such as f2.8 or f1.4. Why do they use these lenses when most landscape photos are taken anywhere from f8 to f22 and the supposed sweet spot is f11 (or close to it) to get good depth of field throughout.
Where does the f/2.8 come in for landscape photography?”
An open or wide aperture is what we rerefer to when using a low f/stop number. These are commonly used to blur the background or foreground of an image.
For example, placing a flower in the immediate foreground and using an open aperture such as f/2.8, will result in the flower being sharp and in focus while the background is soft and blurred (given that the focus point is on the flower).
Another common example of when an open aperture is ideal is during night photography. There’s not much natural light available at night, so you’ll need to increase the ISO, use a slower shutter speed, and use an open aperture.
The difference between f/2.8 and f/4 is, literally, night and day for night photography.
Keep in mind that how blurry elements become depends on where you focus (foreground, middle, background), how close the foreground element is to your lens, and what focal length you use (wide-angle vs. zoom).
What is a Narrow Aperture and When Should You Use It?
A narrow aperture is the opposite of an open aperture, which means we’re looking at a higher f/stop number, such as f/22.
You might have guessed that using this aperture will result in more of the photo being in focus. I.e., there aren’t parts that are blurry or out of focus. This surely sounds great, and you may be asking, “Christian, why isn’t this the optimal aperture then?”
Well, despite more of the image being in focus, the actual sharpness isn’t as good. That means that both the foreground and background are in focus but it’s less sharp than desired.
Narrow apertures are often used when there’s a significant distance between the foreground and background, and you wish to have as much as possible sharp and in focus.
Since the sharpness isn’t as good as the apertures in the sweet spot range, many photographers opt to use the popular focus stacking technique to get maximum front-to-back sharpness.
Another scenario in which a narrow aperture is beneficial is when the sun is partially obscured. Using an aperture somewhere between f/16 and f/22 will result in a nice and crisp sunburst.
What is the Best Aperture for Landscape Photography?
As you have probably figured out by now, the best aperture for landscape photography depends on the image you’re taking and the lens you’re using.
An open aperture such as f/2.8 results in less of the image being in focus, but the parts that are in focus are sharper than they would have been with an aperture such as f/22.
On the other hand, a narrow aperture such as f/22 keeps the entire scene in focus, but it won’t be as sharp as the sharpest parts captured with a wider aperture.
But for standard landscape photography, you want to find the lens’s sweet spot. This is located between two and three stops out from the maximum aperture, which typically means it will be between f/8 and f/11.
DON’T FORGET TO SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Learn More About the Fundamental Settings
The aperture is one of the fundamental settings of photography. Learning these settings is crucial if you want to improve your craft and become a better photographer.
Make sure to read the following articles to familiarize yourself with the remaining fundamental settings, too:
- Introductions to the Fundamentals of Landscape Photography
- The Best ISO for Landscape Photography
- Introduction to Shutter Speed in Landscape Photography
My popular eBook A Comprehensive Introduction to Landscape Photography will help you gain an even better understanding of landscape photography. Its goal is to teach you all the essentials of creating more compelling images; Images that you’re actually proud to share.
