{"id":8112,"date":"2019-03-05T21:21:02","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T04:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mariastrussphotography.com\/?p=8112"},"modified":"2021-07-07T03:06:18","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T10:06:18","slug":"dof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mariastrussphotography.com\/2019\/03\/dof\/","title":{"rendered":"INTRODUCTION TO DEPTH OF FIELD & HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is finally time to explore everything you never<\/strong> wanted to know about Depth of Field<\/strong> (DOF) in this final post of the “Photography Guide to Sharper Photo\u2019s” series. In fact, proper use of  depth of field is one of the best ways to set your photography apart from casual and beginner photographers.<\/p>\n

Let’s begin this discussion with a look at some key definitions so we can eliminate some of the confusion surrounding DOF calculations. Make no mistake, this is a bit complicated.  Thankfully, once the definitions are understood, it becomes easy to use DOF apps such as PhotoPills  or The Photographer’s Ephemeris to produce perfectly sharp images.<\/p>\n

What is Depth of Field?<\/h2>\n

Depth of Field <\/b>is the area in an image that is in acceptable focus. This area can be a very small area around a specific subject or a large area that extends from the foreground to the background of an image.  <\/p>\n

Shallow Depth of Field<\/b>–  When an image is said to have a shallow depth of field it t<\/span>ypically means the main subject is in focus such as the roseate spoonbill below and everything else is blurred.  This is a great technique for separating subjects from their backgrounds regardless if it is a bird, animal, building or a person.<\/p>\n\t

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Wide \/Large Depth of Field – <\/b>A large DOF means that an acceptable portion of the foreground to background area in an image is in focus.  Clicking on my lake image, you will see that the rocks in the foreground to the distance mountain are in focus.  Maximum DOF is great when you want to include multiple layers in a scene as one would do when photographing a grand landscape.<\/p>\n

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What is Hyperfocal Distance?<\/b><\/h2>\n

This is the closest point you can focus in a scene to produce the maximum DOF possible. <\/p>\n