pratsphotomania: APERTURE: PORTRAIT AND LANDSCPAE PHOTOGRAPHY

Now that you've got a basic idea what aperture is, I'll move on to photography specializations. In this post, I'll discuss about two specializations, namely Landscape Photography and Portrait Photography. Because the two types depend largely on aperture, I'll include them in this post.
So, what aperture has to do with these two?

In landscapes, how'll a photo look if some parts of the photo are in focus, and some are out of focus? Yeah, you are right, TERRIBLE!
And in portraits, how will the photo look if along with the subject, all the other parts of the photo are largely in focus? Yeah, the face will not earn any extra attention. Suppose you are a very cute girl, or a very handsome guy; and you want to show that off in photos. Will you not be vexed if your face gets blended in the photo, along with the background?

So, try to recall from my previous posts, with what this whole "In focus out of focus" thing is related?? Hats off if you remember, its Depth of field. And Depth of Field redirects back to aperture.

So, you want every inch of a landscape shot to be in focus, so you have to choose a lower aperture, i.e. higher f-number. Recall that line.
And for a portrait, you will want only the face to be in focus, and the rest of the shot out of focus (so that attention remains primarily on the face). For that you'll need a larger aperture i.e. lower f-number.

LANDSCAPES: Use a tripod. You want the photo to be tack-sharp, and even a small out-of-focus part will ruin the photo. So, a tripod is must. Next, consider the scene you want to capture. Does the foreground have some noticeable elements or not. If the foreground has noticeable parts, and you want to include those in your photo tack-sharp, choose no less than f/22. You might wonder, why limit yourself to f/22, when some lenses allow up to f/40!! Well, at those lower apertures, a thing comes into play...that's called Diffraction. Small holes diffract light rays, so will your aperture do, which will make the photo soft. Even at f/22, photo will be soft, but anything lower than that, your photo will be ruined.
If your foreground doesn't hold a great importance, choose f/16 or f/11. Remember, the golden f-number for landscapes is f/11. In point-and-shoots who don't allow up to f/11, choose the lowest possible. Most likely, it'll be f/8. At f/8 also, you'll get good landscape shots.
Take a look at my landscapes:

Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kumily, Kerala, India. Shot at f/11.

Kovalam Beach, Kerala. Shot at f/11.

Hajaratbal, Srinagar, Kahsmir, India. Shot at f/8.

Confluence of Indus and Zanskar Rivers, Leh, India. Shot at f/11

Chang-la, (la means mountain pass), Changthang, Ladkah, India. Shot at f/8.

PORTRAITS: Use a tripod. Get married to it. For portraits, you want the face to be in focus, and the background out of focus, so choose a higher aperture i.e lower f-number. The golden f-number is f/2.8. If you want the eyes to be tack-sharp, you have to use specialized lenses (which will cost heavy in your pocket), which allow f/1.8. F/2.8 will give you good portraits.

I don't have portrait photos of anybody, except mine. No one clicked it for me, those were self-portraiture.