When you focus on a subject part of the scene in front and behind it is also sharp. This sharp zone is known as the depth of field – or DoF – and understanding how to control the size of your depth of field is one of the most important aspects of photography to get your head around.
Here we take a look at the factors that affect depth of field and how you can control DoF in-camera.
Whether you choose to blur it or keep it sharp, an attractive background is key to successful outdoor portraits. In the second part of our Shoot Like A Pro series on outdoor portrait photography we show you how to take control of depth of field.
When shooting a portrait you can flatter your subject by switching the camera to Portrait mode. This opens up the lens’s aperture to a wide value such as f/4.5. As a result of this wide aperture value the subject’s face will look nice and sharp, while allowing you to blur background and foreground details.
In this Photoshop Elements tutorial we’ll show you how to take control of your shot’s bokeh (background blur), so you can hide distracting details and draw the eye to your main subject.
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Find out what we thought of this image…
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The vibrant colours in this image and the sharp focus on the kingfisher make this a cracking shot.
The shallow depth of field in this pretty image is spot on, which means that this little beauty is our photo of the day.
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