canon 50mm f1.2 tips needed

Hello everyone, I am planning on buying a canon 50mm /f 1.2.

I have a few questions.. when using these lens wide open for portraits, is it best to shoot single individuals only? Would it be bad if I shot /f 1.2 for couples? Based on my knowledge of aperture, I feel as if I shot a couple in /f 1.2, due to the fact at that aperture is so narrow that one of the couple might be blurry.

To the people that love these lens, what are your apertures, when shooting single, couples, or more people? Sorry if I sound new, I'm just slightly confused with these lens. Thank you in advance!

At 1.2 I sometimes even have that one eye is in focus and the other one is not. (on FF)

I definitely would not shoot couples at 1.2

I only use 1.2 where it is really needed due to low light.
At more decent light I start at 2.8

f1.2 if you're after that artistic look with awesome bokeh, but if you're shooting portraits with the entire face in focus, it's better for you to shoot at f2.0

Yeah, unless your couple is perfectly aligned along the focal plain, one will be in focus, the other a blur. f/1.2 will

If you shoot couples with it, shoot at f4 or f5.6. Not sure what the issue is here.

sure, if the couple's faces are perfectly aligned and flat

kin2son wrote in post #14490123
sure, if the couple's faces are perfectly aligned and flat

Doesn't have to be perfect. When shooting a couple you should strive to get their faces on the same plane or as close as is practical. At 8 ft at f5.6 the OP would have about 18 inches or so to play with. That's plenty if you are setting up your poses properly.

Next to the slow AF, that's the reason I sold my 85 1.2L for a 135 f2L
Almost the face is in focus and the DOF is subliminal. My other "blur-lenses" are the 35L & 85 1.8. You pay a lot for almost 1 complete blurry picture, except 1 eye, seems crazy

BryantFC wrote in post #14488981
f1.2 if you're after that artistic look with awesome bokeh, but if you're shooting portraits with the entire face in focus, it's better for you to shoot at f2.0

I was answering to OP....he/she is asking at f1.2

kin2son wrote in post #14490254
I was answering to OP....he/she is asking at f1.2

In that case, it's just a rather odd question. I've never seen anyone want to determine what subject to shoot by the f-stop they want to use. It should be the other way around. Of course if for some reason you want to have a couple with one face slightly defocused then by all means shoot it at f1.2 and make sure they aren't on the same plane. But the way it is supposed to work is that you take the subject you have, decide in your mind what you want the photo to look like then set everything up accordingly.

if you shoot at 1.2, there will be a major learning curve. The window of error is virtually zero. My advice to you is practice, a lot of practice...

blueskyy, may have some impact on the answer, but what camera are you using for this 50mm?

maximus_73 wrote in post #14491634
if you shoot at 1.2, there will be a major learning curve. The window of error is virtually zero. My advice to you is practice, a lot of practice...

+1 x 1000!

I'm no novice, but I recently added the 50mm f/1.2L to my lens arsenal and it's been the most challenging lens I've ever owned. The 85mm f/1.2 is a walk in the park compared to the 50! When I get it right, the images are sensational, unique even. It's a lens you have to master to get the best out of it. Don't let that put you off though, the time and effort are worth it!