Depth of Field

One of the most powerful methods you can use to make your subject stand out is to utilize depth of field. By using a large aperture, you create a very shallow depth of field, which puts the focus on your subject and blurs the background and foreground. A longer focal length lens will shrink the depth of field to a very narrow area. By choosing your aperture carefully, you can control the amount of background detail (Figure 8.1).

Figure 8.1. A large aperture and a long lens provided a shallow depth of field but still allowed for some background detail.

When you want your entire image to be in focus, use a smaller aperture to increase the depth of field (Figure 8.2).

Figure 8.2. Getting sharp focus from near to far requires a small aperture setting.