2 | PORTRAITS
Use depth of field and other techniques to direct the viewer’s attention and improve your shots says James Paterson
Depth of field is one of the most creative controls we photographers have. By choosing what’s sharp and what’s soft, we can draw attention to the important parts of a scene while de-emphasising everything else.
When we focus on a point in a scene, there is an area in front and behind the point that also appears sharp. This is the depth of field – and it can be expanded or contracted. For example, when shooting a person in a forest, depending on your camera and lens settings, you could choose to record detail in the trees in front and behind the person or transform the trees into an attractive blur.
Aperture basics
There are several factors that give us control over the depth of field. First is the aperture (an adjustable opening in the lens that lets in the light). Its size is measured in f-numbers: the higher the f-number, the narrower the opening.
There’s a direct relationship between aperture and depth of field: narrow apertures like f/22 will give greater depth of field, while wide apertures, such as f/2.8, will create a shallow depth of field.It’s a basic rule of photography: the wider the aperture, the less depth of field.
Sharp subjects
So what does this mean for portraits? The classic portrait look is a sharp subject against a soft, attractively blurred background. So we’d usually choose a wide aperture like f/2.8 or f/4 to melt away all
