About wide apertures--it really depends on the situation and (especially) the distance between the camera and the subject. Shooting wide apertures can be especially challenging in bright environments (while staying below the max flash sync speed). However, a shallow depth of-field can turn an especially uninteresting background into something much more pleasing. With that in mind, alot of the time I'm using a 70-200mm at apertures f/4 and below, but then I'm probably 15-20 feet from the subject. At that point f/4 is more than plenty to keep the subject in focus. In a studio, however, the rules are a little different (as you've found out).


For example, I shot this last evening at f/4, 1/200 sec, 75mm.


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