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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Creative Use Of Depth Of Field In Your Photographs

By Carl Johnson


Depth of field (DOF) is the amount of your image that's in focus. Numerous beginning photographers make the mistake of attempting to maintain as much of their pictures in focus as is feasible. Regrettably, unless you're shooting scenery, doing so generally hinders the effect your pictures have on the audience, and can make your photos look poor when you go to develop them, or if you get into custom poster printing. You'll recognize the reason as we discuss this matter in much more fine detail below.

Experienced photographers realize that clouding certain aspects in the backdrop and foreground may produce memorable photos. DOF is a tool that helps you to relay a narrative in regards to the point of interest. It can be utilized to generate diverse visual experiences for the viewer.

This post will describe depth of field, and explain how aperture affects it. You will furthermore learn the worth of short vs . long focus in your shots. Lastly, we'll investigate the reason blurring your subject is frequently the proper procedure for concentrating your audience's attention.

The Consequence Of Aperture On Depth Of Field

Aperture reflects the dimension of the opening through which light filters into your digital camera. It is symbolized by a digit, such as F/2.8, F/8.0, and F/22. These are known as f-values; the bigger the digit, the smaller the opening (i.e. aperture) and the less lighting allowed through the lens.

Aperture has an immediate effect on the depth of field in your photos. The bigger the opening, the shallower the DOF. For instance, imagine you are shooting a tree with a rock formation present in your frame's backdrop. If your aperture is set to F/22, both the tree (your priority) and the rock formation will be in focus. If you capture with the aperture set to F/2.8, the tree will continue to be in focus, but the rocks will be blurred.

There is no specific point at which physical objects in your background or foreground suddenly lose focus. The changeover is incremental as aperture changes, and therefore seldom noticeable. This is known as the circle of confusion.

Clouding Your Point Of Interest To Center The Audience's Consideration

As with all aspects of digital photography, experimenting with your depth of field is the best method to reveal techniques that produce remarkable shots. For example, suppose you are taking photos of partners walking away along the shore of a beach. Usually, you would keep your subject matter (the pair) in sharp focus even while letting the sand and water cloud. But consider the effect of clouding your subject.

It creates a new visual experience. It adds an additional component to the narrative, which is mostly determined by the audience. For instance, the couple appears to be walking toward a future that is uncertain, but full of promises.

For traditional photographs, such as portraits and landscapes, the "rules" governing the use of depth of field are more rigid. With portraits, a shallow DOF is superior to draw your audience's attention to your subject. This helps to reduce disruptions that might normally pull attention from your subject. With landscapes, a wide-angle lens with a small aperture - therefore, creating a lengthier depth of field - makes certain the foreground and backdrop aspects stay in focus. This leads the eyes through the entire composition, and introduces the viewer to every element in the graphic.

Frameworking Your Point Of Focus With Forefront Components

A notably effective approach to utilizing DOF is to frame your subject with forefront aspects which are out of focus. For instance, suppose your subject is standing ten feet away encircled by heavy foliage. Position the plants, leaves, and branches all along the perimeter of your framework, all around your subject matter.

Increase your aperture to produce a shallow depth of field in order to blur the border; keep the subject matter in sharp focus. Blurring the foliage and branches keeps them from distracting your viewer, while utilizing them for the narrative you are attempting to tell in your picture.

Depth of field is among the most overlooked photography tools, though it is an essential component of nearly every single shot you take; learn to use it artistically to generate a unique encounter for your viewers.




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