Deep Depth of Field
With a small aperture (also called f/stop) you can keep everything in your photo sharp. If the subjects in the foreground, middle ground and background are all in focus, you have successfully created a deep depth of field.
In both the photo above and the photo below I used a small aperture (or opening), f/16, to create photos with a deep depth of field.
Shallow Depth Field
To create a shallow depth of field, I used a large aperture setting (large opening but a small number). I used my largest opening, f/1.4, to capture a very close-up photograph of a tiny seedling.
I used a large aperture, f/2.5, to capture the details of the birthday cake my sister made for her son. Using this large aperture helped to create a shallow depth of field, leaving only a small portion of the photograph in focus and the background blurry.
If you want to create depth of field easily, try using the Aperture Priority Mode on your camera. On my Nikon camera, it is the “A” setting. On some cameras, it shows up as AV (aperture value). In Aperture Priority mode you can set how small or large your lens opening is. Set it to a large number (small opening) to deep depth of field, or a small number (large opening) for shallow depth of field. You determine the aperture you want, then based on the available light, your camera will choose the correct shutter speed to ensure you get the photograph you want.
Have fun experimenting with your camera’s aperture to create Depth of Field!
Christie, your photos are incredible! You have an amazing talent, and I was really impressed with your deep depth photos. They perfectly showed how to capture deep depth. I look forward to seeing what other images you capture.
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