Depth of Field test

How important is Depth of field? I think perspective is the most important part of photography because it makes the subject interesting.

DEPTH OF FIELD:

noun;

 the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that give an image judged to be in focus in a camera.

This allows you to isolate the subject in a very crisp manner, while everything (foreground/ background) is completely out of focus. If you look at the image above you notice the that the fingertips and the wooden house are in focus, while her thumbs and face are not. This comes with the simple principle of looking through one lens. your eyes have a difficult time producing this effect because you have two holes (your pupils) allowing light in and one eye can focus closely while the other focuses on things in front or behind it.

So heres how it works with the lens, and this is the trick. You have to shoot the lens at the biggest aperture you can (the smallest number on the lens) for instance; this is shot on a lens that bottoms out at 2.8.

Some things that affect Depth of field besides aperture. The physical distance between what is in focus and what is not, Obviously what further the objects are from each other are going to produce the the best “blurry” effect. The amount of light has to do with that as well. If you have a surround area that is very well lit. you are going to have a (and I quote) “blown out effect”, or an infinity effect. the opposite applies. If my subject was barely lit and the surrounding was dark it would appear the little wooden house was being held by floating hands with no actual person holding it.

Now you’re asking yourself “Can you ever have too shallow depth of field.” The Answer is YESSS!!! Imagine you are photographing a building and your focal point is a corner, You’re standing relatively close. The corner is going to have tack sharp detail, but the remainder of the photograph is going to be impossible to make out. The trick with depth of field is knowing how to control it and keep a balanced exposure.

So take this knowledge and go take some really awesome shallow pictures, tag me on twitter or Instagram @jonstellphoto and show me!

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