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Chapter Ten
An Introduction to Depth of Field
The different aperture settings depicted in the chart we used in the
previous chapter will determine how much of your image will be sharp
in your finished picture based on where you have focused your lens
for the subject in your scene. Most everyone focuses on the main
subject, i.e. friend, fish, player, falling piano, etc. Knowing how much
of your scene will be in focus in front of and behind your subject in the
finished image can greatly enhance the effect your picture has on the
viewer of your photo. This is where Depth of Field comes into the
picture.
A very bright, daytime beach scene exposed usingThe Charts suggested f/22 aperture setting will have more of the entire
scenes detailed subject matter in sharp focus than the dark, rainy day picture taken at the same beach at f/4.0. Yes, it is
okay to take pictures at the beach when it is dark, stormy, and raining. The smaller aperture setting of f/22 will include the
same scene content but the smaller aperture will allow more of the scene to be in sharp focus. As a general rule, The
smaller the aperture, the more Depth of Field you will see in your finished picture. We will cover this effect more
completely in the advanced Depth of Field lessons, but for now we want you to understand what you can expect to see
in your finished image compared to what you see when composing your scene in your viewfinder.
When you are composing your scene in your viewfinder your SLR camera and lens are allowing you to see the scene with
the maximum amount of light your lens can pass through to your eye; your lens has automatically opened to its largest
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aperture setting, i.e. f/1.4, f/2.0, f/2.8, f/3.5, etc. Whatever the largest aperture setting your lens possesses will be the
aperture you are using to view, focus and compose your scene. Very convenient, we must say.
Convenient? Yes! Practical? NO! Things start to get a little complicated right about here, so pay close attention.
Remember when we said that a small aperture provides more Depth of Field than a large aperture? If your lens largest
aperture is f/2.0 then you will be composing your scene through your viewfinder and lens with the aperture automatically
set at its largest opening, f/2.0. Using f/2.0 to expose your scene will give you the LEAST amount of DOF for this particular
lens. Are you going to expose your composed scene at f/2.0? If you are, then what you see to be in focus and what is out
of focus when you look through your viewfinder and lens will be exactly what you will see in your finished print. If your
camera is selecting a different aperture setting than f/2.0 you may be disappointed with your results when you get your film
developed, because the scene you composed at f/2.0 will appear very different than the scene your camera actually took
at any other aperture.
The reason for the difference in your images printed appearance is that as you decrease the size of your lens aperture
(stop down) you create an area of focus in front of and behind your focused subject that increases in depth. The smaller
you make your aperture, the greater the Depth of Field. So, if your camera conveniently lets you focus your scene at full
aperture (its largest setting) to aid in image brightness and composition, you are seeing your scene with the minimum
depth of field possible for that scene. If the electronics in your camera (or your manually selected exposure settings) have
determined that you should use a smaller aperture then your finished picture will possess the DOF area of focus determined
by that smaller lens aperture setting.
To check your Depth of Field for a particular aperture you will need to reference one of your lenses that has not only a
focusing scale but also another scale imprinted on it that has numbers similar to the example below. This other scale is
called the Depth of Field scale and is always used in conjunction with your focusing distance scale. The DOF scale is
fairly easy to use once it is explained.
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Before you can determine how much DOF you will have in your finished picture you must first focus on your subject by
using either your cameras Autofocus feature or by manually adjusting the focusing ring on your lens. Once you have
your subject sharply focused you should look at the focus mark on your lens and see how far away in both feet (and
probably meters) your subject actually is from the camera. Have you noticed how the distance numbers on each scale are
not evenly spaced in regard to their distance indications? This is where trying too hard to determine the exact distance
confuses some people. Relax, it is math, not brain surgery. We just want you to have an idea of how far away your subject
is from the camera. Becoming familiar with how to use this information will not only help you with being creative while
applying depth of field, but also flash, close-up, and product photography.
There is a word for determining an in-between distance measurement; interpolation. We regard it as a general indication
to aid in determining the DOF in our scene.
Read on...
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Once you have relaxed about seeing how far away your focused subject is from your camera you can start worrying
(thinking) about the DOF scale and how to use it. Looking at the example below you will see that we have focused our lens
at about six feet from our subject. The red focusing mark (the vertical red line) is aligned at about where a number 6 would
appear if there had been room on the lens barrel to print it. On either side of the focusing mark (|) are sets of numbers, i.e.
a pair of both 11s and 22s.
The 11s and 22s should be associated with two of the aperture settings you might use to take the picture of your scene.
Admittedly, your lens has more aperture settings than just these two, but you will agree that there does not appear to be
enough room on the DOF scale to imprint all the aperture numbers. Again you will have to interpolate where the other
aperture numbers would be if there had been room on the scale for them. As a reminder the aperture settings imprinted on
most lenses, from largest to smallest should appear in this order:
f/2 f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22
But on the DOF scale they would appear like this (assuming there is room for all of them):
22 16 11 8 5.6 4 2.8 | 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22
You will notice that f/2.0 is represented by the focusing mark. In our DOF scale example you only see the 11 and 22; you
will have to interpolate the approximate locations of the other sets of DOF reference numbers.
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Sets of numbers; hmmm. Let's learn to use these sets of numbers as pairs in
determining the amount of Depth of Field (area of focus) in front of and behind our
focused subject. While once again looking at our DOF scale example and its
focused setting of 6 feet, you will again notice the pair of 11's and 22s. If you
will now look at the distance scale of the lens you will see that each of these pairs
is vertically aligned with a specific focusing distance; this is a major step in learning
to determine the DOF in your scene. Our example shows the right 11 vertically
aligned with about 4 feet (move straight up from the right-hand 11) on the distance scale and the left 11 is vertically
aligned with about 15 feet. If we (or the Autofocus feature of our camera) chooses to use f/11 for its exposure setting then
we can determine, by using the DOF scale and the focusing ring, that everything in our scene that is from 2 feet in front of
our subject (focused at 6 feet) to 9 feet behind our subject will be in sharp focus in our finished photo. However, when you
are looking through your viewfinder and lens you will not see this increased DOF because you are viewing your scene at
your lens' largest aperture setting. Using the DOF scale has informed you of the change in the area of focus in front of and
behind your focus point. Your scene will have about 11 feet of total DOF in your final image. We will leave it up to you to
interpolate the DOF if you chose to use f/16 for your scene. And how about if you wanted to set your aperture to f/8?
Checking your DOF can make or break the effect of the story or the impact you want your picture to have on the viewer.
If you are trying to keep everything out of focus except your subject then you should check that your camera is selecting
its largest aperture to record the image. However, if you want most everything in your scene to appear in focus then you
will want your camera to select the smallest aperture it can for the amount of light in your scene. Our example shows the
pair of 22s on the DOF scale aligning with about 2.5 feet and the Infinity symbol. This would mean that everything
between 2.5 feet away from the camera to Infinity would be in sharp focus in your finished picture. If you want to see what
is in focus at either Infinity or at 2.5 feet you can always turn your focusing ring to any distance and look through your
viewfinder. If what you see is not acceptable you should select an aperture that better suits your scene.
Again, focusing and composing at your lens maximum aperture setting is a definite convenience, but this convenience
can be very misleading if you are interested in being creative with this photographic technique. Just because you see your
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scene through the lens (TTL) with your SLR, your cameras automatic exposure metering electronics may have a different
idea about which aperture it is actually going to use to expose your film. Paying attention to which aperture your camera
has selected and checking that selection against your DOF scale will prepare you for the appearance of your finished
photo.
A couple of other ways you can increase your apparent DOF are to use a shorter focal length lens (a wide- angle lens) or
by photographing your scene from a greater distance. If you want an alternative to decreasing your scenes DOF you
would use the opposite; attach a longer focal length lens (telephoto) or position yourself (or at least your camera) closer
to your subject. Working your subject and the equipment in your photographic arsenal will make you a better photographer.
Depth of Field Chart for a 50mm Lens
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