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DOF: Depth of Feild

What is depth-of-field?
The easiest working definition of depth-of-field would be: "the amount of the image that is in sharp focus." This includes the amount of the image in front of, and behind, the main subject.

Why is depth-of-field important to learn?
Sometimes you will only want the main subject in focus, while at other times you will want everything in the image in sharp focus. For example, when shooting wildlife, you may only want the animal in sharp focus. The background is less important. However, when when photographing landscapes, it is essential to have the entire image razor sharp.
Understanding Depth-of-Field
To understand depth-of-field you must understand aperture settings.
Aperture settings are also known as F-Stops.

The aperture has a dual function.
1) The aperture setting is what determines how much light is coming into your camera.
2) The aperture setting will determine how much depth-of-field appears is in your image.

If you can picture the aperture as a ring which opens up and closes down, then you can visualize its effects. On manual cameras, you can see how the aperture opens or closes depending on your settings. If you set your camera to a wide aperture (low number; such as 1.4 or 2.8, 4. or even 5.6) you will see the ring is very wide and lets in a lot of light. Conversely, if you set your aperture at a high number like f22 or f32, you'll see that the aperture closes down, letting in less light. The aperture, at these settings, is the size of
a pinhole.

Maximum Depth-Of-Field
The higher the aperture numbers;
the higher the amount of sharpness or 'depth-of-field' in your image.


The light is very focused on a high aperture setting, almost like a laser beam. When an aperture opening is this small, less given light will be available and therefore the exposures (shutter speed) will be longer. That is why it is mandatory to use a tripod when doing landscapes. You will want maximum depth-of-field for your landscapes. Achieving this requires an aperture of f16 to F32, which, has a smaller opening and requires more time for the film to be exposed.

While "quality of light" will be another article offered on this website in the future, most great landscape images are taken under low light situations. If you want to achieve maximum depth-of-field (or maximum sharpness) in an image, you will be shooting at apertures of F16, F22, or F32. I usually start my settings around F22.

Minimum Depth-Of-Field; Blurring the Background
A lower number means a wider aperture, or 'opening'. The wider the aperture setting, the more light comes into the camera and onto the film. Wide aperture settings would be: F 1.4, 2.8, 3.5, 4. Low aperture numbers let in more available light and have the effect of "minimum depth-of-field". This means that, at a low-number, only the main subject in the frame will be sharp. The background and foreground will be less focused and have less detail.

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