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!

find me on social media, I’d love to talk or share info and ideas.

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I did a maternity mini session, I’ve never done one before, I’ve spent so much time looking at maternity pictures lately to see what angles to use, what styling, I noticed many of them are in a studio. There are a few problems I have with that, (a) I don’t have a studio available at the drop of a hat. (b) I don’t have lights for it (c) I prefer outdoor photography. I think shooting in a comfortable setting is the most important thing. regardless if its inside or out. Kate is such a wonderful spirit, she didn’t have a problem being barefoot, she didn’t mind that it was kinda cool outside. She’s so excited about being a mother, and its made other pregnant women want to make sure they have good maternity pictures. I’ve had quite a few request to do others, so I guess that will be my niche for a little while. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to do these.

I want to impress on to you how important it is to have quality pictures of these little moments, If you’re like me, you’ll only get the chance to do these things one time. How I wish I had more good pictures of my daughter when she was very little. Don’t get me wrong I have a ton, but they are all grainy cell phone pictures. Please if you are pregnant, have a newborn, got engaged, getting married, or haven’t ever had quality pictures made of your family contact a photographer. Do yourself the favor. You’ll never regret it. I promise.

**The Technical Fun Stuff**

Let me set this up for you. Sunday evening, about 4 o’clock, its 60 degrees outside, some cloud coverage, and the most pleasant breeze. I have my camera and a speedlight. Kate is nervous. I showed her the back of the camera, and all her fears melted away. I try to capture as many candid shots as i can because I don’t think posing always looks natural. I shot these as wide open as I could so it would have just a little flare and be super bright. I like a little haze. I’m so glad I invested in a full frame. I feel like my photography is going to start soaring. I can hardly wait to do another set like this.

The rest of the set is in the “gallery” page, please check them out. If you’re interested (even a tiny bit) please contact me. My phone number is plastered everywhere, or you can email/text message me.

Thank you.

Irving Juarez, Skating the gnarliest loading dock in Conway. check the landing… thats right. the same texture as a cheese grader. So, if you can imagine riding a rolling piece of wood across a gravel pit, that would be the fear factor you’d have to face. Irving reps “lost soul” skateboards and “disposable dreams” apparel. He’s a local ripper, nice guy, and hype man if you need him to be. I think he just loves to skateboard. He’s all about the culture, and riding his skateboard.

**Tech Stuff**

So I took a huge leap of faith, I spent the money to buy a full frame camera (the Nikon D610) A really big investment for me, but I’ve been working really hard to get to this point I’m at. I Photographed this with the D610 and a 24-70 f2.8 at 200 ISO, 1/200  and f4. I used a SB600 on a stand to combat the sun even though it was mostly overcast. I love this lens. Its my favorite I’ve ever shot. It does what the 50mm just can’t. Its relatively wide compared to the 50mm, and the wide lens opening makes the f2.8 such a wonderful picture. I didn’t do much post processing, so this is essentially what came out of the back of the camera. I really enjoy doing action shots, and lifestyle stuff, makes me happy. I can use my own ideas and edit them how I see fit. Maybe thats the direction I’ll go from here on out.

I’m always putting stuff on Instagram and TWITTER.

Keep checking on me, I’d Love to hear from you. Please contact me. Lets shoot some pictures.