This lesson follows up on a concept we touched on in our Lesson on Aperture, namely Depth of Field. Depth of field (DOF) is simply the amount of a photo that is in focus based on distance between objects or part of an object. If only a part of the photo is in focus such as only near object, we say we have shallow or narrow depth of field. If most or all objects are in focus, we have deep depth of field. In general, smaller apertures such as f22 produce deep depth of field. Conversely, larger apertures such as f1.8 produce shallow depth of field. The two items which control depth of field are aperture of the lens and the distance between objects in a photo. If you have objects that are close together even a large aperture will produce all items in focus.
The flower image below has narrow depth of field with very little in focus. The ruins picture has deep depth of field with everything both near and far in focus. The choice of depth of field is basically an artistic choice.
Please read this excellent resources for Depth of Field
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/htmls/depth.html
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm
Assignment:
Your assignment will be to go on a photo shoot and try to take photos that illustrate narrow and deep depth of field. Please post two photos from this shoot and post comments on your photo including where it was taken and other relevant information. Also post a comment on someone else’s photo. All plagiarism rules still apply.