When I approach writing these articles, I always do a bit of research just so that I’m sure of what I’m bringing to you, and to organize my thoughts.  I have to say that if I did not already have a working knowledge of depth of field, I would have run screaming into the night!  Being self taught, I understand visually what I’m talking about, but may not always know the science or math involved in the process.  Yes, there is a lot of technical know-how necessary to completely understand depth of field, but I feel that goes beyond what I’m trying to accomplish here. 

So get to it already…what is depth of field?

Depth of field refers to the range of acceptable sharpness  in a photograph from near to far.  What that means is that each photograph has a focal point.  Depth of field is how much of the foreground and background are in focus.  Focus tapers off gradually.  In the photograph below, the red apple on top is the focal point.  Notice how the focus drops off coming toward the foreground, and moving toward the background.

Shallow depth of field

Shallow depth of field is just what it sounds like.  It is when very little in front of, or behind the focal point is in focus.  Below is a photograph that depicts that.  Notice how one orange is in focus, but the focus drops off sharply.

Wide depth of field

On the other end of the spectrum, there is wide depth of field.  this is where much in front of and behind the focal point of the picture is in focus.  Below is a photograph that has a wide depth of field.  Even the person walking in the background, beyond the surfboards is in focus.

Factors that affect depth of field

The first factor that affects depth of field is the aperture, or “f-stop”.  When you take a photograph, the aperture, or opening, snaps open and shut quickly to expose your film, or sensor (in digital photography) to light.  Some point and shoots will not show an f-stop range, but SLRs and some point and shoots will.  The f-stop range should be on the lens itself.  The lower the number, the more light that the lens can gather, and higher numbers, less.  The lower the f-stop, the more shallow the depth of field will be.  The apples and oranges above were shot at an f-stop of 1.8, the surfboards were shot at f-16.

 The other way to control your depth of field is by controlling how close you are to your subject.  The closer you are to your subject, the more shallow your depth of field.  The picture of the plant below was taken farther away.  Notice how nearly everything in the shot is in focus.

In the next photograph, I moved in much closer to capture the flower.  Notice in this shot how nothing except for the flower is in focus.

Which is better?

When it comes to depth of field, there is no right or wrong.  It often depends upon the preference of the photographer or the situation.  If you’re shooting a landscape, generally a wide depth of field is called for.  Are you trying to capture the lattice of a dragonfly’s wing?  Then you’re probably going to want a shallow depth of field.  If you camera has the capability to manually override your f-stop, do it, and play with it.  Try different exposures and distances, and find out what appeals to you!

All of the photographs used on this site were, or will be taken by me, unless I specify otherwise.  So far I’ve only used my photographs to illustrate a point.  Every few days I plan to post one of my own photographs as a stand alone feature.  I don’t plan at this point to post exposure, lens type, f-stop, or any of that technical jargon.  The camera I use currently is the Canon 30-D.  As far as lenses are concerned, I only own the kit lens (28-135) and the 50mm f1.8 lens.  I’m utterly in love with many other lenses, and I hope some day to increase my lens arsenal!  The reason I’m sharing all this information, though, is to illustrate the point that the type of photographs I will post here is an achievable level of quality for many amateurs, and with a bit of knowledge and practice, beginners.  It takes practice.  It also takes reading the owners manual of your camera, so get cracking on that!  

Chance Meeting

This is a photograph I took just before Christmas 2007.  I live in a neighborhood that at one time had a large Swedish population, and maintains a bit of that heritage.  There was a St. Lucia Festival which was attended by Santa.  I shot this sweet tableau that night.

Photographing animals brings with it a unique set of challenges.  I mean, I love my two cats, but frankly they stink at taking direction.  No, seriously…they stink at it!  I also volunteer at a local shelter taking pictures for their website, and you know what?  None of the cats would pose for me!  Dogs were not much better!   Fortunately there are ways to help overcome the language barrier. 

More is Better

 The first piece of advice is one you will hear often from me.  That advice is to take lots of pictures.  I mean a lot!  I know that this is more difficult if you are still using film, but even when I was using film, I would take more pictures than I thought I would need.  Often I’d take an entire roll to get one or two really good shots.  Sometimes more.  If you’re using the digital format, there are no excuses!  You can’t expect your first couple of photos to be the keepers.  Sometimes it is the 30th one that is the charm! 

Light it Up

 Lighting is critical in every photograph.  Animals particularly are prone to “red eye”, which comes across as blue or yellow.  Does this look seem familiar?

 That doesn’t make for an attractive photograph of a pretty darn cute cat!  Natural light shows her off to her best advantage.

So, whenever possible, use natural light.  You can even play with more dramatic lighting…sidelight and sunbeams can make for a more dramatic photograph.

Take a Unique Look

While it’s nice to have a gorgeous portrait of your little darling, it’s also fun to focus on an individual feature…

a paw

or a nose

Get Down To Their Level

Perspective is everything.  The “looking up with plaintive eyes” shot is lovely, and cute, but try getting on the floor, and shooting from their level.  It makes for a much more intimate photo.

Send In The Clowns

Animals are natural comedians.  Goofiness makes for a heartwarming portrait of your pet.

Up Close and Personal

Closeups can really bring drama to your photographs.  If your pet is used to being photographs, eventually she will let you get close enough to catch all the details of her beautiful face.

Fishing for Material

Are you dying to show off your aquatic pets?  Much of the same advice applies.  For these photos, I had my camera set for macro shooting, I got into a comfortable position in front of the tank, and let my subjects come to me.

 Pets are members of our family, and deserve to be immortalized.  Keep at it, and keep practicing…at least as much as they will let you!

In the previous article, I discussed using the rule of thirds to improve the composition of your photographs. In that article, only single subject photographs were used. The rule of thirds is also useful in photographs with multiple subjects, or focal points.Now remember, the rule of thirds has you imagining that your photograph is divided by a grid with two lines horizontally, and two lines vertically.

The idea is to have the subjects, or areas of interest either along the lines, or at the intersections of the lines. This grid is a simple tool to help improve the composition of your photographs. Multiple subjects can benefit from this technique. In the photograph below, you’ll see how the two butterflies lie along the two vertical lines.

If you have a digital camera, and have toggled through some of the settings, you might have seen a grid appear on your view finder screen…two lines down and two lines across.  Most likely you continued to toggle through the settings to get rid of it…it’s in the way, and it has no discernable purpose, right?  Well it does have a purpose, and a good one, actually.  It’s a tool to help you create a well composed photograph.  It’s a tool to help you compose a photograph using The Rule of Thirds. Even if your camera does not have this feature, you can still use The Rule of Thirds to help compose a good picture.  Imagine that your photograph has a grid, two lines across, two lines down, composed of nine rectangles.  The eye is naturally drawn to the intersections of the lines as illustrated below.

The idea is to place objects of interest on these intersections, or along the lines, either horizontally or vertically. This is a very basic rule, but it does work.  It helps to avoid the beginner pitfall of placing the subject smack dab in the center of the photograph, with lots of space on all sides, as in the example below.

Here is the same photo with the grid in place.  Note how the butterfly falls directly in the center of the photograph.

Wouldn’t it have been a more interesting photograph if the butterfly had been placed off center?  In the photograph below, the caterpillar is placed off center.  You’ll notice that he falls directly on one of the intersections.  The caterpillar photograph is much more interesting than the butterfly above.

When photographing people, the Rule of Thirds still applies.  The photograph is much better if either the person is off center along one of the vertical lines, or if the persons eyes are along one of the horizontal lines like in the photograph below.

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You can also improve a photo you’ve already taken if you have basic editing software.  I generally use Photoshop Elements.  The photograph below has the Dicentra bud dead center.

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A little cropping changes the feel of the photograph greatly, and in my opinion, improves it.

Hopefully that gives you a basic understanding of the Rule of Thirds when photographing single objects.  A future article will help illustrate the use of this rule when photographing multiple objects.  So the next time you’re taking pictures, why not toggle around and bring that grid back up on your viewfinder?  You can also use your imagination if your camera does not have this feature.  Play around with it, and enjoy the results!

You see what you think will be a good picture; your child doing something adorable, your dog snuggling with her favorite toy, or a beautiful outdoor scene. You grab your camera,  shoot what you think will be a great picture. But time and again  you’re disappointed. Something seems like it’s missing, and your pictures didn’t turn out as well as you had hoped.What makes the difference? What can you do differently to take better photographs? Maybe you’ve done an internet search, and come across some sites dedicated to photography, but they seem to be speaking a foreign language. They’re discussing terminology you don’t understand, and equipment you’ve never heard of.My hope here is to help the beginner. I want to help those who have never heard of depth of field, or natural lighting. I want to make taking a better photographs more accessible, understandable, and enjoyable. It is such a wonderful feeling when you take a really beautiful photograph, when all of the elements are there. There’s a sense of pride when others compliment the photographs you have taken.Possibly, down the line as your skills grow, someone might ask you to take pictures of their child, and it starts from there. That’s how it started for me. Like many, I didn’t formally study photography, unless you count one multi-media class in high school that I took about a million years ago. Now I consider photography one of my careers. It provides for me a nice side income, and hopefully in the future, a full income. I specialize in portraits, both casual and studio. These days I work mostly in a digital format, but I haven’t had the heart to dismantle my darkroom…perhaps I never will.My goal here is to help the beginners attain their goals, whether that is to improve their photographic skills purely for personal pleasure, or possibly to improve them enough to work their way into the lucrative world of professional photography.Hopefully you’ll find at least a bit of information that helps you…maybe even a lot.  I know that I will be learning right along with you as I research topics to present to you, so check back often!