What is the best f stop to use for family portraits?

8 people, canon 50d, 28-135 lense and 50 1.4 outside location. 430 external flash ettl setting. Thanks!!!!:)
Lighting is sun behind them 1 hr before sunset. I will have them grouped, obviously. Maybe 2-3 rows. What would you recommed for ISO?

What is your ISO, what is your lighting like? Are they on the same plane or various planes in your posing? Too many variables for a standard answer.
Edit, with sunlight behind them I would need a fill in flash. The ISO could be anywhere from 200 - 400, depending upon the sky and the amount of color you want to maintain. f11 will probably be good to balance the light and keep a decent DOF with the group.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at 8:33 pm and is filed under family portraits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “What is the best f stop to use for family portraits?”

Perki88 on October 11th, 2009 at 1:50 am

What is your ISO, what is your lighting like? Are they on the same plane or various planes in your posing? Too many variables for a standard answer.
Edit, with sunlight behind them I would need a fill in flash. The ISO could be anywhere from 200 - 400, depending upon the sky and the amount of color you want to maintain. f11 will probably be good to balance the light and keep a decent DOF with the group.
References :
Sakura on October 11th, 2009 at 2:34 am

If I can, I try to use something between F11 to F22
References :

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