Focusing at large aperatures?

[JayClark79]

I see alot of people say they shoot weddings or anything in low light with 2.8+ aperatures, how are they getting more then 1 person in focus? When I try it I always get 1 point in focus, and the other person or persons are out of focus because of the shallow DOF....

What gives?

[Sam]

Jay,

Try looking at this: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

The DOF will vary based on focal length, aperture, and the distance from the camera to the subject.

Sam

[JayClark79]

Nice link sam... So what im getting is to shoot at a large aperature, I dont want to be as zoomed in? or the greater the distance between me and my main focus point the greater the space that is in focus?

[LiquidAir]

Often you can't get more than one person in focus. Part of the trick to shooting events with fast lenses is to pick the right person to focus on. I try to think about what story I am telling with the image. What point of view is my image telling its story from? What are my subjects paying attention to? I am I focusing on that or their reactions?

[kevinpw]

Nice link sam... So what im getting is to shoot at a large aperature, I dont want to be as zoomed in? or the greater the distance between me and my main focus point the greater the space that is in focus?

That's what I've learned through experience as well.