The concept of depth of field (DOF) is relatively easy to grasp, yet can be a very powerful tool for creating great photographs.
Simply stated, DOF is the amount of the scene that's in focus.
A landscape photograph where everything from the foreground to the background is in focus is said to have great depth.
In cinematography, this is known as "deep focus.
" Greater DOF is achieved with a smaller aperture (higher f-stop number) or a shorter focal length lens.
Understanding hyperfocal distance can help you maximize your DOF.
The hyperfocal distance is the point at which, if you focus on it, everything from about half that distance to infinity will be in focus.
This point varies depending on your aperture and focal length of your lens.
For a 28mm lens, the hyperfocal distance at f5.
6 is fifteen feet, while stopping down to f8 decreases it to eleven feet.
This means you can focus on something eleven feet away, and everything from six feet to infinitiy will be in focus.
As a rule of thumb, the hyperfocal point is one-third of the distance into the area that will be in focus.
Some photographers, knowing their lens and f-stop will produce great depth, will focus on a point one-third of the way into their scene to maximize the area in focus.
At the other end of the spectrum is Bokeh, where shallow DOF produces a pleasing blur that increases the attention given to the object in focus.
While used most often in macro and close-up photography, Bokeh can really enhance portraits, especially those taken outdoors.
New tools like the Lensbaby allow for selective focus and tilt-shift photography, which gives the impression that you're looking at a scale model.
This effect can also be reproduced afterward in Photoshop, using masks and the gaussian blur functions.