If you’re not familiar with a photography technique called the “Brenizer Method”, then I definitely encourage you take a look at it from the man himself, Ryan Brenizer. It’s a technique that allows you to achieve the appearance of a really wide lens with a ridiculously impossible shallow depth-of-field, by taking a bunch of photos and then stitching them together in post-processing software.
Let’s take the following photo as an example (click here to view larger):
.jpg "01 Brenizer Method Wedding(pp w768 h499) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
At first glance this may seem like I just used a really wide lens at a large aperture, but the wider the focal length the less depth of field you have, so you’d never quite get a result like this with a DSLR, even with a f/1.4 or even f/1.2 lens. The above photo was made from stitching together 22 separate images, all taken with an 85mm f/1.4 lens at f/1.4. The resulting depth of field is the equivalent of using a 32mm lens at f/0.5. f/0.5 people! That’s insane. Here’s a look at one of the images from this set:
.jpg "brenizer method example(pp w480 h720) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
This photo is perfectly fine by itself and I actually delivered it as-is, but I also wanted to showcase the location they were at which the Brenizer Method was perfect for. Before I cropped it a little, here is the result of all 22 images stitched together:
.jpg "brenizer method how to1(pp w480 h480) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
Now while I obviously wouldn’t try to take a bunch of these during a typical wedding or engagement session, it’s certainly a great tool to have at your disposal. Here are a few other examples:
.jpg "02 Brenizer Method Flower Field Engagement(pp w768 h475) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
14 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 30mm f/0.49 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "03 Brenizer Method Mellon Park Engagement(pp w768 h488) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
22 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 31mm f/0.51 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "04 Brenizer Method Hartwood Acres Engagement(pp w768 h394) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
9 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 36mm f/1.2 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "05 Brenizer Method Phipps Conservatory Wedding(pp w768 h677) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
15 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 35mm f/0.57 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "06 Brenizer Method Fall North Shore Engagement(pp w768 h617) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
8 images with the Nikon 70-200mm VRII (equivalent of 110mm f/1.54 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "07 Brenizer Method Engagement(pp w768 h483) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
9 images with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 22mm f/0.61 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "08 Brenizer Method Wedding Vineyard(pp w768 h447) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
8 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 34mm f/0.56 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "09 Brenizer Method Succop Conservatory Wedding(pp w768 h414) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
16 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 33mm f/0.54 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "10 Brenizer Method Pittsburgh Engagement(pp w768 h453) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
14 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 40mm f/0.66 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "11 Brenizer Method Downtown Pittsburgh Engagement(pp w768 h519) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
5 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 55mm f/1.16 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "12 Brenizer Method Bokeh North Shore Engagement(pp w768 h428) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
8 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 40mm f/0.66 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "13 Brenizer Method Pittsburgh Downtown Engagement(pp w768 h703) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
5 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 73mm f/1.2 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "14 Brenizer Method North Shore River Engagement(pp w768 h411) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
12 images with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 24mm f/0.66 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "15 Brenizer Method Mexican War Streets Engagement(pp w768 h909) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
25 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 41mm f/0.68 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "16 Brenizer Method Mt. Washington PIttsburgh Engagement(pp w768 h386) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
6 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 45mm f/0.75 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "17 Brenizer Method Apple Orchard Engagement(pp w768 h368) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
21 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 28mm f/0.46 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
.jpg "18 Brenizer Method Mt. Washington Park Engagement(pp w768 h491) - Brenizer Method Portraits")
18 images with the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (equivalent of 35mm f/0.58 according to Brett’s calculator). Click here to view larger.
Aaron Varga Photography is a top Pittsburgh wedding photography studio serving downtown Pittsburgh and all surrounding areas. We specialize in creating modern, glamorous, and timeless photographs and providing an unmatched photography experience. Contact us for information and availability for your wedding or engagement session!
