In this guide, you are going to learn how to control depth of field by covering these topics:

• Depth of field definition
• Importance of depth of field
• Factors affecting depth of field
• Controlling depth of field to create amazing photos
• Etc.

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing some of my best photography work, check out the Gallery or my Instagram. Some of my images are also available as photo prints, with a selection of my favorites HERE.

What is Depth of Field in Photography?

Depth of field is essentially the region within a photo that is in focus and sharp. Wherever you place your focus point within a scene will be the point that is tack sharp, but a percentage in front of and behind your focus point will also be acceptably sharp.

It is also important to know that it is not an equal zone in front of and behind the focus point that’s in focus. Rather, approximately ⅓ of your depth of field will be in front of the focus point and ⅔ behind.

The main factors that you can manipulate to control depth of field are aperture, focal length, and distance between you and your subject. These will be discussed further below.

Why is Depth of Field Important?

Controlling depth of field is super important because, at least in my opinion, it gives you the most artistic control of an image. Using the proper depth of field is the make-or-break aspect when it comes to vast landscapes and dreamy portraits.

For example, using shallow depth of field for a dreamy portrait is what allows for the subject to be tack sharp while the background is pleasingly blurred (bokeh). With a shallow depth of field, only a small portion of the scene will be in focus, which allows for excellent background separation. Using a deep depth of field in this scenario would result in the background also being in focus, likely resulting in many distracting elements throughout the scene.

On the other hand, with the vast landscape, you would want a deep depth of field to ensure the photo is sharp from corner to corner. This is an important thing to consider when you are facing a beautiful vista. Nothing would be worse than getting your photos onto the computer and realizing that the mountains in the background are soft.

Other shallow depth of field examples could be isolating an animal in wildlife photography, flower pictures in macro photography, or if you want to isolate a single subject in street photography.

Alternatively, you may choose to utilize a deep depth of field in wildlife photography if you also want to capture the animal’s habitat or in portrait photography if you are photographing a group.

Factors Affecting Depth of Field:

What controls depth of field is a combination of three variables: aperture, focal length, and the distance between you and the subject. It’s important to understand how these three variables work together because there may be times that you don’t have control of one of them.

For example, you don’t need to feel limited if you don’t have the money to buy these big expensive lenses (side note, the best gear is the gear you already have). If you don’t have a lens that opens up to f/2.8, try getting closer to your subject and you will see that great bokeh!

Now let me explain them.

Aperture (f-stop):

Aperture is a key factor affecting depth of field. I discuss aperture in greater detail in my exposure triangle article, which you can find HERE.

However, to recap, the aperture of your lens is the hole that allows light to pass through the lens to the sensor. The smaller the number, the larger the aperture, and vice versa. The larger the aperture, the more shallow the resulting depth of field will be, and vice versa.

The way I think of it is:

• Small f-stop number (large aperture hole) = less in focus (shallow depth of field)
• Large f-stop number (small aperture hole) = more in focus (deep depth of field)

So in general, if I am photographing a landscape and want a deep depth of field to produce an image that is sharp from front to back, I will often select an aperture (f-stop) of around f/11. On the other hand, if I am taking a portrait I will open up the aperture (f-stop) to somewhere around f/4 or f/2.8 to blur the background somewhat.

Distance Between Lens and Subject:

The next variable that will affect your depth of field is the distance between you and the subject that you have focused on.

The closer you can get your lens to your subject, the more shallow the depth of field will be. For example, if you take a portrait at f/4 from 50 feet away and from 5 feet away, the depth of field will be more shallow in the photo taken from 5 feet away.

What this means for you (assuming the subject is cooperative or stationary) is that if you are not seeing the bokeh that you desire and your aperture is already wide open (lowest f-stop) you can try moving closer.

Focal Length:

The third and final variable that controls depth of field is the focal length of your lens. The longer the focal length, the more shallow the depth of field will be.

For example, if you take 2 photos of a subject from the same position, one at 300 mm and the other at 85 mm, the image taken at 300 mm will have a more shallow depth of field.

This is one of the reasons that using a telephoto or short telephoto lens for portraits can be appealing. With the longer focal length, it is much easier to produce pleasing bokeh with a more shallow depth of field.

Putting it All Together:

To recap, manipulating aperture, distance to the subject, and focal length are what controls depth of field.

Shallow depth of field:

• Large aperture (small f-stop number)
• Closer to subject
• Longer focal length

Deep depth of field:

• Small aperture (large f-stop number)
• Farther from subject
• Shorter focal length

So if you want to achieve the shallowest depth of field that you can, get close to your subject with your longest lens (higher focal length) with the widest aperture. Hell, if money isn’t an object grab your 400 mm f/2.8 lens and walk right up to the person you’re photographing. Now that’s a shallow depth of field!

Thankfully, you don’t need $10k to achieve a shallow depth of field. That was just an extreme example. In my case, I also don’t have that kind of money for a lens. For the majority of my wildlife shots, I use a 150-600 mm lens. At 600 mm the widest aperture is f/6.3, which of course is not that large of an aperture. But with 600 mm of focal length, if I can get relatively close to an animal where it is separated from the background, I can still achieve a narrow depth of field.

This goes to show that these are additive variables. You don’t necessarily need all 3. On the other hand, you can manipulate the different variables to cancel each other out. For example, if you need to use f/2.8 due to low light but don’t want a shallow depth of field, then as long as you are using a wider angle lens (shorter focal length) the result will be a more moderate depth of field.

Hyperfocal Distance and Calculations:

I am not going to go into detail about this at this point. Honestly, I just don’t think they are necessary or beneficial to consider, at least at this point.

With that said, the hyperfocal distance is a certain focus point within your scene where you will have the maximal depth of field. This also depends on your selected aperture and focal length. Some charts and apps can help you with this if you must investigate, but I don’t ever determine this for my shots and have yet to feel hindered because of it.

Instead, I just operate on a tried and true rule of thumb of focusing about ⅓ of the way into the scene. This is in reference to landscape shots by the way. Assuming you are using a wider lens and an aperture of f/8, f/11, etc. you shouldn’t have an issue with this method.

Conclusion:

Depth of field is essential for you to master. It plays a dramatic role in your creative process. As discussed previously, this is why I recommend that you use aperture priority mode at least 95% of the time as you will be locking in your aperture. As we discussed, aperture is one of three variables that controls depth of field.

Now get out there and start practicing! Make depth of field a conscious decision, not an afterthought. When you look at your subject, decide if you want a narrow depth of field or deep depth of field, and adjust the variables that you are physically able to. If you are unsure, take photos with shallow, deep, and moderate depth of field of the same subject. Afterward, you can compare what looks better to your eye and you will become a pro at controlling depth of field in no time!

If you missed my previous article about camera/shooting modes, check it out Here!

Thanks for reading to the end. Your support means the world to me! If you’re interested in seeing some of my best photography work, check out the Gallery or my Instagram. Some of my images are also available as photo prints, with a selection of my favorites HERE.

The post What Controls Depth of Field in Photography appeared first on Mathew Macey Photography.

I remember when I first started I was overwhelmed and had many questions.

What are the elements of composition in photography? Why is composition important in photography? I thought photography was supposed to be creative; why are there so many damn rules!?

It’s all good. Photography composition “rules” are really just guidelines. Plus, rules were made to be broken anyway, right?

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing some of my best photography work, check out the Gallery or my Instagram. Some of my images are also available as photo prints, with a selection of my favorites HERE. If you’re curious, check out my current Gear List.

Definition of Photography Composition:

According to SLR Lounge, composition is “the way that contents within the frame are arranged or laid out. It is what you choose to include in the frame and where it is placed.”

Now, what exactly does this mean in the real world? Here are some common elements of composition:

• Position of the horizon
• How many subjects to include
• How much of the sky to include
• How much of the foreground to include
• Centered vs off-center subject

Not so bad so far right?

Why is Composition Important in Photography?

To put it simply, having an understanding of photography composition rules is what can make the difference between a bad photo and a masterpiece. Oftentimes you can greatly improve a photograph of the same subject by altering the photograph’s composition.

Playing with the elements of composition can transform the everyday shot of your cat into a best-selling print! Maybe that’s getting a bit ahead of ourselves; but as a side note, if your cat is anywhere as energetic as mine, they can make great practice if you’re interested in wildlife photography!

Using wildlife as an example, it’s important to consider the entire scene when selecting your photography composition technique for a given photograph. It’s easy to get excited when you see a black bear, a bald eagle, a domestic chicken, or whatever else gets you excited.

But take a second and breathe!

Remember, your goal isn’t simply to prove to your friend that you saw your favorite chicken! Your goal is to tell a story about the subject. This is what makes for a great photo. I used to be a prime offender of getting excited and just simply capturing a quick photo. Something I now often remind myself is I’d rather take the best photo of a chicken than the worst photo of a bald eagle.

Okay, enough rambling. Now let me walk you through some of the most important photography composition techniques. These are great for beginners but I’m always coming back and reviewing them as well.

Rule of Thirds:

Ah, the rule of thirds. Even if you haven’t heard of the rule of thirds, I bet you have already seen it. Many cameras (including our phones) come with a built-in grid overlay for the rule of thirds.

If this isn’t ringing a bell don’t worry. This grid is simply two vertical and two horizontal lines which are evenly spaced. What this does is divide the frame into thirds.

The idea behind this compositional rule is that you should aim to place elements of your frame along these gridlines. If you want a quick and easy way to improve your next landscape shot, don’t place your horizon in the center of the frame. Instead, either place it along the top or bottom horizontal line. Boom! Your photo is now probably better than 75% of your friends’ photos on Instagram.

It doesn’t stop there though. Want to take a photo of a palm tree on the beach? Rather than centering the tree, place it along one of the vertical gridlines.

This may seem simple because it is! Honestly, practicing with only the rule of thirds initially will get you pretty far. And it doesn’t need to end with trees and horizons. Try applying this to everything and you’ll be surprised.

To kick it up a notch, now try placing an area of focus on one of the intersecting points. If you finally tired out your cat chasing them around the house, take advantage of this moment and capture a stationary portrait with their outside eye of one of the intersecting points.

Now that you’re an expert on the rule of thirds, I’m going to remind you that rules are made to be broken and we are going to talk about symmetry.

Symmetry:

Okay, so symmetry is pretty much the exact opposite of everything I just told you. Now you’re going to take your subject and place it in the center of your frame.

But won’t this make my photo look boring and sub-par? The short answer is maybe, but when used properly symmetry can be a powerful compositional element. Plus, if you’re using a digital camera with free “film” just take a shot using the rule of thirds as well and decide what looks better after.

There really isn’t a rule of thumb about which scenes work best with symmetry, so definitely experiment. However, I personally like it when there is either a single subject centered in a vast scene or there is a central clearing centered in a busy scene.

Leading Lines:

Remember when we talked about telling a story with your photos? Leading lines are one of my favorite elements of composition for this as they direct the viewer’s eyes through your image.

One of the most common examples I’ve seen of leading lines is a windy road through the mountains. But your leading line doesn’t need to be a road and doesn’t even need to be windy.

Straight lines work just as well as curved lines. What is important is that your leading lines need to actually lead somewhere! You want your leading line to lead to your area of interest, not out of the photo. If you have a line in front of you that you like but doesn’t feel right, try moving your feet. You’d be surprised by the dramatic effect that changing the angle of the line can have on the overall composition of the photo.

Rule of Odds:

This one is easy. Odd numbers only. If you are photographing boats in the harbor, find a group of 3 or 5. If you are taking a family portrait for a family of 6, you need to have them pick a kid to sit out. Kidding of course because these are just guidelines!

However, for whatever weird reason humans are wired to prefer odd numbers in photos. It’s a fact. Even I can attest to this as one of those freaks that needs the volume to be an even number.

Even volume numbers. Odd numbers in your photography composition. It’s just how it is.

The number I often choose is 3. However, 5 and 7, or even 1 also work. Plus, I think you get extra bang for the buck because planning your shot this way forces you to be selective about your subjects.

Negative Space:

Negative space as a compositional element is one of the easiest to understand but hardest to master. Well at least for me.

The idea is that you utilize an empty area to optimize your scene. Examples of this are the sky, ocean, snow, or grassy field. When used properly, negative space can be very creative.

Rule of Space:

Now that we’re talking about space in your photos, another important composition technique is the rule of space.

Again, remember the story! Animals, people, and vehicles are dynamic subjects so we should aim to portray them that way. It’s actually quite simple to do so.

If a subject is gazing to the right, capture the energy of the moment and give them some space to look.

If a subject is moving to the right, give them the space to move!

Fill the Frame:

The opposite of negative space composition. Now you want to really focus on your subject. You can do this in a variety of ways. Whether it’s a zoom lens, getting physically closer, or cropping in post-processing, the result is similar.

Your goal should be to make your subject distinct and to minimize any background distractions. This can have a huge impact, especially when photographing small subjects.

This can be utilized with any subject but you will often see this with wildlife photography.

Conclusion:

Now that you understand some of the most important photography rules it’s time to get out and practice! It may seem daunting now but trust me it will become second nature in no time.

My recommendation would be to try each of them next time that you are out. Spend a little while getting acquainted and then pick one to use as your “base composition” until you have them all mastered. Probably the best to master first is the rule of thirds. Then think of the other compositional elements as modifications and/or alternatives.

Let me know in the comments what your favorite compositional method is! Also, this blog thing is new to me so I would appreciate any feedback!

If you missed my previous article about the exposure triangle check it out Here!

Or read the next article about Understanding Camera Modes.

Thanks for reading to the end. Your support means the world to me! If you’re interested in seeing some of my best photography work, check out the Gallery or my Instagram. Some of my images are also available as photo prints, with a selection of my favorites HERE.

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through my site I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you. I only promote products that I 100% support.

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