DoF study IIa

Geraninum flowers close-up, shot with a 50 mm macro stopped down to f 11.0. Which one of the two photos of these flowers do you like better, and why? I'm aware of the fact that this is only one lens, but it is translatable to many other lenses and focal lengths. Your comments are very welcome.

Lovely plants and pictures, Vincent! Of the two versions, I like this one better. More detail and with a guessed background. Beautifully captured! Bravo! Sincerely, Tatiana

Vincent ask us a dilemma. The first photo taken with a smaller aperture, has a greater depth of field and gives the impression of being sharper. In the second image, the flowers stand out clearly from the blurred background and the eye focuses only on them, which are the main subject and for this reason, in my opinion, it is a winner, ciao Giangiorgio

Hi Giangiorgio,

 

thank you for partaking in my aperture choice-question! The thing is I can't really chose myself and thus have decided to ask my friends on PN what they think. Thanks for your well-substantiated choice! Kind regards, Vincent

Hi Tatiana,

 

thank you for partaking in my aperture choice-question! One of the reasons I have asked this question is the fact that I can't really chose myself. But you are very clear about the reasons you prefer this f 11 version. Kind regards, Vincent

Hi Vincent, tough decision, but I will agree with Tatiana, and choose this f11 version. I think you have to use an aperture small enough to have the subject sharp. Just to make it even more confusing, I'll add that a happy medium of say, f7 or f8 may be more appealing....LOL, Bill

Hi Bill,

 

thank you for participating in this question! I agree an aperture somewhere in between might be even better than f 4 or f 11, but I thought I had to create two clear options. The f 11 seems to be the winner. Kind regards, Vincent

Vincent...I looked at both and my preference resides with this one.Maybe if my mind had the curiousity to scrutinize the flower in its minute details as a flower lover would, the other one might have been the choice.Your post did get me to stop and look closely and further appreciate your observations on my images .Salutations-Laurent

Hi Laurent,

 

thank you very much for making a choice in this aperture-dilemma! As most of the other PN'ers who reacted, you have chosen the f 11 version, which is a clear 'winner', most likely because the flowers are sharp from front to back and there is still some background blur. Kind regards, Vincent