Depth of Field

Deep depth of field. Achieve with small aperture and/or wider angle lens.

Shallow depth of field. Achieve with wide aperture and/or longer (telephoto) lens.

In class:

Explore depth-of-field using Aperture Priority Mode. 

Nikon: use "A" mode

Canon: use "Av" mode

The photographer chooses the aperture and the camera automatically adjusts shutter speed for optimal exposure.

Shoot in fairly bright conditions to ensure adequate exposure, or use higher ISO. Create a photograph where there is a distinct foreground object and the background is fairly far away.  Focus on the foreground object, and maintain this focal placement. Shoot the image three times, varying the apertures. Create at least 3 3-image sets.

• f4 or wider (f2.8, f1.4 okay)
• f8
• f16 or smaller (f22 okay)

Explore depth-of-field using Manual Mode. 

Similar idea as above. 

1. Set desired aperture
2. Choose a shutter speed that ensures correct exposure–this will be indicated by your in-camera meter. (It should indicate neither plus (+), minus (-), but "0") 
3. Explore three depths of field with the following aperture (or similar)

• f4 or wider (f2.8, f1.4 okay)
• f8
• f16 or smaller (f22 okay)

1. Focus on the same foreground object for all three shots

Shooting (for Tuesday 2/3)

Chose specific subjects and shoot them with widely varied depths of field, while maintaining the same composition/framing. This means 2-3 variations of the same "shot" but created with a range of apertures to vary the depth of field. Again, shoot on aperture priority

In the examples below, we see the same subject and the same framing, but with different depths of field. How does this affect the image? Which do you prefer? Why?

f4.0

f18