Depth-Of-Field (DOF) in Photography

Hi guys, today I am writing up a general tutorial on how Depth-Of-Field (DOF for short) works in photography. It is actually pretty easy to learn. DOF is pretty much how much of an image that can be in focus at certain settings. There is actually quite a lot of physics and how light travels, but I will just be giving a pretty general overview in this tutorial to help you take better photos.

For depth of field, here are the 2 rules you need to remember:

• The closer you are to an object, the less you can get in focus. The farther away, the more you can get in focus. That is why you see people using telephoto lenses to do portraits. Zoom in and back up if you want more in focus. 
• The wider your aperture, the less you can get in focus, however you get more light and faster shutter. The narrower your aperture, the more you can get in focus, however less light means slower shutter speed. Don't go too narrow, or you will experience blurriness. 

The distance is quite self explanatory, but aperture might be a bit confusing for beginners, so I will go into more detail here. The scale for aperture might be a bit confusing for beginners as the scale is kind of "opposite". The aperture is measured in f-stops (generally denoted as "f/XX" where "XX" is the aperture). The SMALLER the number, the BIGGER the aperture opening (example: f/2.8), more light and faster shutter speed. The BIGGER the number, the SMALLER the aperture opening (example: f/22), less light and slower shutter speed. If you are on a tripod and want everything in focus, you can use a smaller aperture, however when handheld, you want to balance these to not get motion blur, but still get a usable image. The widest aperture for the lens is generally denoted in the name of the lens (you can't go wider than that). Some zoom lenses have a variable aperture where the widest aperture will change as you zoom in and out. You usually find two aperture numbers in the names of those lenses. 

For landscape shots, you don't want to go all out f/22. When the aperture opening gets that small, a different type of distortion occurs and you will get a blurry image that looks out of focus. I generally use an f/14 and f/16 for my landscape shots, but the "good aperture" varies lens to lens and is something you want to experiment with and balance out with DOF. When handheld, I use a middle of the road aperture for landscape shots somewhere from f/8 to f/11.

If you want to experiment with the aperture controls to further control DOF, you can do so in the following modes of your camera: A or Av (Aperture Priority), M (Manual), or B (Bulb) modes.

Below are some sample photos to show you the DOF from controlling the aperture. These photos are shot at Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA on my road trip from the SF Bay Area to Vancouver, BC, Canada. You can view the photos from my trip here. The photos are of the giant steel cables keeping the bridge up. I thought they would make a great DOF subject to do a tutorial on.

This first photo is shot at f/2.8, a very wide aperture with less of the cable in focus. 

Here is a photo at f/5. As you can see more of the cable is in focus now. 

Here is a photo at f/2.8. See how very little of the cable is in focus. 

Here is another photo at f/5. As you can see more of the cable is in focus. 

This is it for the tutorial! I hope it has helped you out a bit with your photography. :) Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

RainbowImaging 100 Meter 2.4 GHz Wireless Shutter Release Review (Video)

This is the video review for the RainbowImaging 100 Meter 2.4 GHZ Wireless Shutter Release for cameras and DSLRs. The kit comes with the transmitter, receiver, batteries, a certification, and a badly translated instruction manual. XD The product in the video was the shutter release for the "3 pin" Canon EOS cameras. The remote also features 4 modes including single shutter, multiple shutter, bulb, and delay. The same company also makes other shutter released for other brand cameras like Canon (other type of connector), Pentax, Panasonic, Nikon, Sony, FujiFilm, and Samsung.

Reviews of other products mentioned in video:

• Zeikos Remote Review (Wired Remote)
• Photive RC-6 Release Review (IR Remote)

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Zeikos Remote Shutter Release for Canon Review (Video)

This is the Zeikos Remote Shutter Release for Canon. This remote is for the 3 pin connector type cameras, not for the headphone jack type cameras. I find this remote very useful for keeping my camera still for landscape, portrait, and macro photography. Like the Canon remote, this remote has a button locking feature for Bulb exposures. The only difference between the Canon remote and this one is that this remote only costs around 1/8 (estimate) the price of a Canon remote. The Canon remote is made of the same cheap plastic this is made of, so don't be fooled!

Some of the compatible cameras:

• 5D Series
• 7D Series
• 1D Series
• 50D Series
• Other "3-pin" type connectors or use the Canon RS-80N3

Features:

• 3 feet Cord
• Button Lock (Bulb)
• 2 Step Button (Focus/Shutter Release)
• Cost around $5 compared to Canon's $40

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Introduction to Aperture

Today I will teach you about choosing an aperture. An aperture is a hole inside the lens in which light travels through. Aperture is a very important thing to learn about for a photographer. First of all, if you are new, aperture can only be adjusted while in Aperture Priority (Av) mode, Manual (M) mode, and Bulb mode. If you would like to mess with this function, use those modes. Aperture is measured in f-stops or f/xx where xx is a number. The bigger the number, the smaller the opening. So as you can now see, the smaller the number, the wider the aperture opens, the more light that hits the sensor, which in turn, will decrease your shutter speed. The bigger the number, the smaller the opening, the less light that can hit the sensor, the longer the shutter speed. Now you may be asking, "Why don't we always open up the aperture to the widest mode?" See the next to photos below.

The photo above was taken with a f/7.1. See how the background is nice and blurred out? Opening up your camera's aperture wide is key for macro photography. For macro photography, you want the background nice and blurred out while your subject is in focus. 

The second photo is of the same subject except it was taken at f/45. See how the background is so much more in focus now? This is not what you want your macro photo to be like. You want the background blurred out, however this is the effect you want when you are doing landscape. In a landscape shot, you want everything in focus. Closing up your aperture for a landscape shot is key to a great photo. 

Good! Now you just learned about adjusting your aperture for what ever you need! Please note an aperture of f/7-f/10 is a "default" aperture a camera uses. If you ever use program or auto, this is what your camera will usually be using. I hope you have enjoyed today's lesson. :) Have fun and experiment with aperture yourself! Please share this with other photography enthusiasts. If you would like to be notified next time I post, please "Like" us on Facebook.