Understanding Depth of Field on Your DSLR Camera

One of the great creative controls you have with a DSLR camera is the ability to adjust the depth of field. Depth of field refers to the zone of acceptable sharpness in front of and behind the subject on which the lens is focused. By manipulating depth of field, you can control which parts of the image are sharp and which are blurred.

Shallow Depth of Field

A shallow depth of field is used when you want your subject to be tack sharp but the foreground and background blurred. This look is great for portraits where you want the subject’s eyes sharp but the background out of focus and smoothed over. It draws the viewer’s eye right to the subject.

To achieve a shallow depth of field:

• Use a lens with a wide maximum aperture (low f-stop number like f/1.8 or f/2.8)

• Open up your aperture as wide as it will go

• Move closer to your subject

• Use a longer focal length lens

Deep Depth of Field

A deep depth of field is used when you want everything from the foreground to the background in focus. This is commonly used in landscape photography where you want the entire scene sharp front to back. It can also be used for group shots to keep everyone tack sharp.

To get a deep depth of field:

• Use a small aperture (high f-stop number like f/16 or f/22)

• Use a shorter focal length wide angle lens

• Move further away from your subject

Aperture is the biggest determinant of depth of field. The wider the aperture (smaller f-stop number), the shallower the depth of field becomes. Stopping down the lens to a small aperture like f/22 will render a much deeper depth of field. Focal length also impacts depth of field, with longer lenses producing shallower zones of sharpness.

Focus on What Matters

Being able to control depth of field is a powerful technique. A shallow DOF can make your subject pop by smoothing distracting backgrounds. For portraits, focusing on the eyes and throwing the background out of focus draws all attention to your subject’s face. Whereas a deep depth of field is ideal for keeping scenes like landscapes fully sharp. Master this concept to truly make your subject stand out or render an entire scene tack sharp.