Focus and depth of field are those kinds of topics that can quickly confuse newer photographers. When we’re just starting out, we think we know what it means, but our pictures are still blurred or everything’s too sharp and detailed and we don’t understand why.
In this video from Wolfcrow, filmmaker Sareesh Sudhakaran walks us through the basic principles of focus and depth of field in a very easy to digest manner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5thzx1JVvk
Understanding focus is the first part of the equation. If you don’t know this, then depth of field can be difficult to wrap your head around as the distance at which the lens is focused changes your depth of field.
As well as changing the focus distance, altering your aperture changes the depth of field and apparent sharpness of things within your scene. A wider aperture creates a shallower depth of field, blurring objects rapidly as they get further way from your focus point, which can be handy for portraits where you want some separation between your subject and the background.
A smaller aperture increases the depth of field getting more of the scene in focus, which is more useful for things like landscape photography.
Ultimately, though, all the knowledge in the world isn’t going to help you if you don’t get out and practise and see the results for yourself.
But watch the video, and then when you go and test things out for yourself, you’re armed with a little more information to help you figure out how to get the look you’re after.
What other focusing and depth of field tips do you have? Let us know in the comments.
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