Perhaps one of the oldes tricks in the book that can make your pictures stand head and shoulders above the rest or get lost in oblivion is using depth of field to focus the picture- and the eyes of the viewer- on what you want to mark as important. Take the picture of the flower below as an example ( which is available in full size, by the way, as a wallpaper in MaiTravelSite’s Facebook Page) I took in Chiang Mai some time ago.
I wanted to take a picture of it in such a way that nothing else disturbed the viewer from looking at what I wanted him/ her to. The solution? As I could not move the temple behind it on one side and the green foliage on the other was too to be able to focus appropriately with my camera I used depth of field to blur the background and make the flower the star of the shot. I set the aperture at a large aperture (small f-stop number) which I think was around 1/ 1.8 with my fast and cheap Nikon 50 mm f1.8 lens, adjusted everything there is to adjust and shot. The result is what you see.
So what is depth of field? Simply put depth of field is what determines what is focused and what not in a picture. The extent as to which you can use this concept is also determined by your camera- compact cameras do not have much flexibility but some do have a Macro mode to take pictures of close-ups which you can use to blur the background when taking portraits. Another trick is to stand far from the object and zoom in to focus on it. By pressing the button half way you will lock the focus and can then move the camera slightly to showcase more of the background for that blurry effect. SLR cameras, on the other hand, have different lenses which allow all the flexibility you’ll need. The best ones, of course, will come at a price (consider these tips for buying a lens for travel photography).
This is my explanation on what depth of field is and how you can use it to take better pictures without going into too much detail. However, to help you understand this better I have asked the same question to fellow travel bloggers and experienced professional photographers who were happy to answer this question: Daniel Shah, Daniel Nahabedian, Dave Boskill and Bethany Savlon.
What is depth of field and how can it be used to improve travel photography?
Daniel Shah says:
“When I was studying photography I had no idea about depth of field. But I learnt it from time to time with practice and got the real concept when I started teaching photography. Depth of field is the sharpness of the distance between your subject and its background/foreground.
You need to adjust it according the the frame you have in your mind. If you want things to appear sharp behind your subject that are existing between your subject and its background, you need smaller aperture number. And the more you increase the number, the sharper it gets”
Daniel Shah is a traveler, blogger and photograper based in Pakistan. Join his Facebook Page !
Daniel Nahabedian responds:
“Depth of field is the distance between the closest and farthest object in a photo that appear sharp. To put it more easily, it’s how much in your picture is blurred and how much is in focus. It is very important for starting photographers to understand how it works.
You can control depth of field by increasing or decreasing your aperture. The wider your aperture (smaller numbers like f/1.8 or f/2.8), the shallower your depth of field will be. This means that the object you are focusing on will be sharp while the foreground and background will be blurry/soft.
Also, the smaller your aperture (bigger numbers like f/11 or f/22), the sharper everything in the scene will be.
So when taking portraits, you will probably need a shallow depth of field so that the face (eyes) are sharp and the background is blurry to avoid distraction. When taking landscape shots, it’s better to use a tripod and shoot with the smallest aperture possible (usually f/22) to get everything in the scene as sharp as possible from the closest flowers to the distant mountains.”
Daniel Nahabedian is a professional photographer who spends a good portion of his time exploring remote locations looking for the ultimate shot. You’ve probably seen several of his photos if you’re an avid user of Stumble Upon, otherwise you can see examples of his work in his photoblog www.canvas-of-light.com
Bethany Savlon comments:
“Depth of field in the most simplest terms is the range of sharpness in your image. Using a larger aperture (2.8 or below) will create a smaller depth of field in your photo. This is great when you want to isolate a subject (think portrait or a single flower in a field) and have the rest of your image fall into a slight blur. It makes the subject stand out in the viewer’s eyes.
When shooting a landscape you may want to use a larger depth of field so that more parts of your image are in focus. To do this you would use a smaller aperture (f11 or higher). Using an aperture of 5.6 or above is a good bet when shooting a group photo because it will ensure that everyone’s faces will be in focus. The larger the group – the smaller the aperture you need to use.
Remember that the aperture (f/stop) you choose controls the range of sharpness in your photo.
Lower f -stop number (f/1.8) = larger aperture = shallow depth of field
Higher f-stop number (f/22) = smaller aperture = greater depth of field”
Dave Bouskill replies:
“Depth of field is really just the distance between the closest object and furthest object in a photo that appear to be sharp. There are 2 types of DOF.
Shallow: where the foreground or background are very out of focus compared to the subject.
Deep: where the background, foreground and subject are all in sharp focus together.
DOF can be used in many ways. the most common is to use a “Shallow” DOF when you want to separate out the subject from the foreground or background. This is accomplished by using either a very wide open aperture like F1.2-2.8 or increasing the distance between the subject and the background/foreground.
Tips:
When shooting portraits or close ups try to use a shallow DOF to make them stand out from the background. This will keep distractions out of focus and allow the viewer to focus on the subject. This also comes in handy when shooting flowers or any other Macro shots.
When shooting landscapes try to make sure to have a deep DOF. You want as much of that beauty in focus as you can. I usually accomplish this by shooting all of my landscape shots at F11 or above.”
Dave represents half of one of the most popular travel blogs in the web, www.theplanetd.com. Together with Debra they travel the world not only to see but to experience, learn and show what cultures of the world can teach us all. Dave was recently requested by Olympus cameras to become part of their test team.
Without a doubt it takes time to be able to use depth of field comfortably and to accomplish desired effects. The great advantage even novice photographers have nowadays is that you don’t have to wait to develop a film to be able to see if you succeeded on your intention. With digital cameras you can immediately check what you did and, if not pleased, shoot again after making some adjustments! Imagine the cost involved during the learning curve when digital cameras did not exist. Ahh, the good old days…
Has this article helped you understand depth of field? Is depth of field something you use regularly when taking pictures when traveling? Got any questions? Share your opinion below, and this post too if you think others might find it helpful!
I love the first photo. It is so amazing. You capture it perfectly. I like this post since it really educate me of capturing images perfectly. I love photography and the tips can really educate me a lot.
awesome website i am learning a lot 5stars
omg . huhu i dont understand about your topic about photography . i have no knowledge about dslr camera .huhu mine is plain simple ….
Hi Zelda! This is for DSLR cameras mostly, but you can use it with your P&S too…
Excellent and informative post. I am a regular visitor of this site.I always appreciate your work. You should keep it up forever. Thanks for this great article.
Stay tuned for more, I will publish related articles soon! And thanks for the kind words 🙂
Nice tips 🙂 I just bought a 1.8 50mm lens for portraits.. what type of lens do you recommend that has a lower fstop that would be able to zoom? 🙂
The Sigma 17-50 2.8 EX OS HSM has good reviews and is very versatile, but it has a larger fstop. I think there are a handful of lenses in that range with a 1.4, but they are very expensive…
Thanks for the tips guys im really learning alot from these. Great shots too what sort of gear are you using?
Lovely images and informative post. Getting DOF right can turn a ‘snap’ into a memorable shot. I would always use my aging Nikon D40 for taking shots where I want a good DOF – I would have never considered using the macro setting on my compact to get the same effect. Great tip, I’ll be trying it this weekend!
Hey Tom- it’s not the macro, but the camera’s zoom! Walk a few feet back and then zoom in with the camera to pick up the lost distance. This will make the camera focus more on the object you want to portray 🙂
I think a big reason reason one should consider upgrading from a p&s to a dslr has a lot to do with DOF manipulation. Some of my favourite photos are those with a sharp subject with a blurred background & appealing bokeh.
I agree, though the ability to perform well in low light conditions is probably as important.
Fantastic tips, also keep up with the pictures. It helps the learning process when there are such great examples. 🙂
Thanks Hogga, will try my best! Glad you found the article helpful!
Thanks for this. I am starting to take my travel photography more seriously, so these simple yet useful tips are a great reminder.
Glad I could help Cam!
Great tutorial. I try to play with this a lot while I’m shooting.
I bet you get great results often right?
Love the DoF explanation – Dan is one of my fav photogs!
His shots are really spectacular Erica, I totally agree!
I tend to forget the technical hulabaloos in photography and this is a great, instructive way to relearn them! My 50mm could only do so much.
Hey, a 50 mm lens is great to learn depth of field!
I don’t think I’ve heard that term in college… So much to think about. Thanks so much for these tech pieces!
I’m go Thailand in a few weeks and SO want a camera that can take pics like this!! Sadly, my Easy Share is only OK, and doesn’t take the pics I wish it would. These are good tips though! And great photogs interviewed!
Play around with it Diana- using the technique described you can blur the background too in many instances 🙂
Loving these round-up series, they are all my favourite photographers.
It is great to get advice from them, isn’t it?
Interesting.. So I *could* get this effect with a non-SLR point and shoot camera, it’s just a little harder? I have a Canon G12 and I love it, but I’m still learning the ropes!
The G12 is a good camera- using the techniques described you will be ablt to play with depth of field and achieve blurry backgrounds- and foregrounds!