Depth of Field: Photography’s Best Trick Part 1

Do you know what Depth of Field is? Do you know how to make it work for you? DoF is the common abbreviation and it’s the favorite trick of any pro! It completely changes the photograph if you have “shallow” depth of field, or “deep” depth of field. What do the two look like? I’ll show you!

"Deep" Depth of Field, background is sharper.

This is how most cameras when left up to themselves, will take the picture. If you leave it on any sort of automatic, chances are this is how your photos will look. But it’s not just the camera body. It also has a lot to do with the lens. (Everything, in fact.)

Are you up to speed on your Aperture Values? Do you know about F-stops? If not, that’s okay. I have a post you can see here about all that technical stuff.

Provided you’re familiar enough to know that your Aperture (how much light the lens lets in) is tiny when indicated at f/22 and wide open at f/1.8 or similar; how wide open your lens goes is a big determining factor in how little depth of field you can have.

Shallow Depth of Field

As you can see here, with a “shallow” depth of field the background is way more blurry. This is a highly desirable affect called “Bokkeh.” Or you can just call it background blur like me. The idea is by keeping your subject in focus while blurring out the background, is that you have a much stronger subject and therefore a better picture. It has so long been a staple of professional photographers that an image with shallow depth of field like the image above simply looks like it’s more professional than the first image.

So what do we have to do to accomplish this affect? We need two things. One is a camera with a manual aperture control. If you have a mode wheel on your camera, change it to the A (or Av if you have Canon.) You might have to check your manual about how to change the aperture once you’re in A (or Av) mode. If you have an SLR or Digital SLR (camera with interchangable lenses) usually there is what’s called a “Command” wheel, often located somewhere near your right thumb or forefinger while holding the camera like you’re going to take a picture. Again, you may have to consult your manual as all cameras are different.

Canon Rebel Command Wheel

Once you know how to change your aperture, make it as low as you can go. Chances are if you have a DSLR without a super expensive or special lens, you’re looking an f/4 or f/3.5. Same is true if you have a point and shoot, but those sometimes go down even as far as f/2.8.

At f/2.8 you can approximate the shallow DoF image above. (2nd image.) Really, what you would ideally need is an f/1.8 lens. Why? For one thing, believe it or not, most f/2.8 lenses to purchase seperately are waaay more expensive. Seriously!

The good news is these lenses for SLR or DSLR owners are cheap. Under $120! And they’re about the sharpest you can get under $650 too! The bad news is if you have a Point & Shoot Camera you’re stuck with whatever lens you have on the camera. Not all hope is lost for you though! There may be a way you can get this affect. Part Two of this Depth of Field series will be how you can achieve a similar affect with Telephoto (zoom.)

Well what are the lenses? For Canon owners:

And for Nikon owners:

Here are some more shallow DoF examples for your viewing pleasure:

Very Unique Sun Dial in Pilot Butte Cemetery

A Favorite of Mine

Cemetery Angel

IHS: First three letters of Jesus' Name in the Greek Alphabet. Iota, Eta, Sigma

Twin Sons of Leithauser, 1927