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Understanding Depth of Field For Beginners
aperature set at f/11
distance is several feet from my focus point
focal length is 21 mm
Depth of Field refers to the area of your photograph that is in focus. Photographs almost always have an area in front of, and behind, your subject that is focused. Some areas will not have very little of that area sharp. This is referred to as a shallow depth of field. Conversely a deep depth of field refers to a photo where elements that are far apart are all sharply focused.
When thinking about depth of field you'll need to remember three things, the first of which is aperture (or f-stop). Aperture the diameter of the hole to let light through your lens. The smaller the aperture the longer your DoF. What always confused me is that the f-stop numbers are back assward. It took me a long time to get that straight in my head. A good way to remember this is the smaller the f-number, the smaller the depth of field - the larger the f-number the larger the depth of field.
The second thing to remember is the closer to the subject you are the shallower your depth of field becomes. That's pretty simple.
The third thing on our list is focal length of your lens. This subject can get quite confusing, but simply put this is how your lens magnifies the image of a distant subject. Just remember the longer you set your focal length the shallower your depth of field becomes. For example if you stand 30 ft away from your subject and focus your subject at 50mm you'll have a deeper depth of field than if you push your zoom lens all the way out to 300mm focusing on the same subject from the same spot.
So what if you have a point and shoot camera? Look at your camera menu. Is there a setting with a head for portraits? This will give you a shallower depth of field than setting it to the mountain symbol for landscapes which will give you a deeper field of focus.
Setting your aperture will affect your shutter speed so you may not always be able to get the picture you want at the time you want it. You may be trying to increase your depth of field by reducing your aperture size, you must know that will force you to slow down your shutter speed (to let in enough light to the sensor) this could result in a blurry image if you aren't careful. In these situations a tripod and a remote trigger will help you a lot.
aperture set at f/5
distance is right up close to the leaves
focal length is 10mm
As you take your photos with depth of field in mind you will start to notice how much in front and behind your subject is focused and you can use your new knowledge to adjust for the picture you want. I could drop some math here about lens focal lengths again but I don't really want to get into that. It hurts my head.
Why should I care about depth of field? Controlling depth of field gives you artistic control of your images. A shallow depth of field will focus the eye on precisely you want the viewer to see. While a wide deep shot gives the viewer a sense of space. You can find depth of field charts online and get smart phone apps that will help you too. Some cameras will show you depth of field through the viewfinder.
When everything is sharp and in focus you've reached the hyperfocal distance. To reach this hyperfocal point a good rule of thumb is to focus a third of the way into the scene. Using an aperture of about f/11 to f/22 with a wide angle lens will maximize your depth of field.
So remember if you want to get shallower depth of field use a smaller f-stop, get closer to your subject and shorten the focal length of your lens. If you want to get a deeper depth of field, move away from your subject, increase the f-stop and lengthen your focal length.




Great tutorial!
Thanks.