Shallow depth of field

[Cliffs]

I am an uber-rookie when it comes to DSLR picture taking but I can become confused by a lot of the terminology used....example;

the assignment of the week is 'shallow depth of field', I thought I understood what it was until I reviewed some of the images given for presentation. My layman's definition would be a close up with out of focus being a big part of the main image.

To me, a lot of them are macro-style shots...

can somebody please explain the difference? That is if there is a difference.

[SusanH1970]

Shallow depth of field is when the subject of the photo (a person in a portrait, a close up of a flower in a macro, etc.) is in sharp focus, while the area surrounding it is blurred. This is achieved by using a large aperture.

You are seeing a lot of flower macro-type shots in the assignment because a lot of people are choosing that as their subject.

Does this make sense?

Anyone else who can word this better than I, please do expound. I think I gave a pretty general explanation.

[jprime84]

Thats basically it.

In this case, it just so happens that many close-up or macro shots (not necessarily interchangeable terms there, but thats a whole other conversation) use a shallow depth of field.

Shallow depth of field means that only a small slice space some distance away from you is in focus.

Imagine standing at the end of a row of cups on a table. There are ten cups 1-10. For the deepest depth of field, all 10 glasses would be in focus. For a shallow depth of field, only one, or maybe even only half of one glass, is in focus, and all the ones in front of and behind of it are not in focus.

[inkista]

Your layman's definition is correct, and you'll see that it also applies to macro shots.

There are a lot of ways to increase out-of-focus blur in a shot, aside from using a wide aperture; oof blur is affected by your crop factor, your focal length, your subject distance, and the distance of your subject from the background.

If you're limited by maximum aperture (slower lens) or sensor size (i.e., using a P&S camera), then the only easy way to get a shallow DoF is to go macro and move in close to the subject.

[SusanH1970]

Thank you both for further explaining this!

[Cliffs]

Thank all of you for replying...now I understand a bit more about this great hobby.

[dcclark]

Here's how I think of depth of field:

When you focus on something, you're saying "I want this to be in perfect focus." Everything at that same distance (for example, 3 meters) from the camera will be in perfect focus.

Depth of field is how much distance in front of (or behind) your "perfect focus" you want to look reasonably in focus. A shallow depth of field may be as little as one or two millimeters of focus. A deep depth of field may be all the way off to infinity.

The key in all of this is that there is a specific distance, such that things that exact distance away from your camera will be in perfect photo. Anything closer or farther will be slightly out of focus, and "depth of field" really just means how far in front of (and behind) the perfect focus distance things look acceptably in focus.

[mainak_ch]

Agreed that close up/macro shots are shoot with shallow depth of field just to bring out the subject more prominently, but is it always necessary? Is it not possible for a shot to have a large DOF, and yet be a 1:2 to 1:1 shot? In that case we will have a large DOF macro shot, and a small DOF normal shot to diiferentiate between the two.

[Alley-Cat]

I too am new to the art of DSLR Photography, and have just bought a Sony Alpha200. I've started playing with it a little, and am particularly interested in learning how to create different Depth of Field and also using different apperture levels. I will be visiting the Zoo and Gardens in Adelaide, and would like to know how i can use DoF and Apperture to create better images through fencing etc.

any tips would be greatly aprreciated, and the info already given was a huge help! I think i sort of know what i'm talking about now!

[wulf]

Depth of field decreases as you do one of two things: use a wider aperture or get closer to the subject. The challenge for macro photographers is that, because they get very close to their subjects they are often working with a DoF that is a few mm wide (or less!).

BTW, I've shuffled this to a different section - it is too useful a topic to want it to get lost quickly in general chit-chat!

Wulf