Focused pictures how to#

Keep this in mind, donвЂ™t fall short otherwise youвЂ™ll get an image with the subjects on the horizon out of focus. They try to focus the lens at the exact number the hyperfocal table pops out, falling short most of the time.

Focused pictures how to#

Also, most students donвЂ™t know how to focus at the hyperfocal distance.

Neglecting that, when shooting with a wide angle lens (10mm to 35mm), focusing at the hyperfocal distance is the easiest way to maximize depth of field. They are reluctant to use the hyperfocal distance, so they pick small apertures (f/16, f/22) to maximize depth of field. вЂњWhy do I get the mountains (or the stars) blurred?вЂќ - they ask.

When shooting landscapes, they typically fail to get everything sharp.

They cannot blur enough the background elements to get the desired shallow depth of field.

When shooting portraits, most students fail to separate the subject from the background.

Usually, the top sixВ problems with depth of field are:

The limitations of their own equipment, in most cases a basic DSLR camera with a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit.

They have not properly internalized the concept.

Most of the students start to realize how their creativity is limited by the incapacity of shooting the desired level of depth of field. These obstacles fill the atmosphere with frustration and despair, reminding me exactly what I felt when I first started studying and using depth of field. ItвЂ™s not until the following day, while IвЂ™m heldig the practical class, that problems quickly arise.

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. It seems that everyone has properly assimilated the concept. Surprisingly enough, I donвЂ™t get many questions during the theory class. PhotoPillsвЂ™ Dof Calculator - results in Augmented Reality. вЂњThatвЂ™s very coolвЂ¦ but, where do I focus exactly?вЂќ One of the moments students love is when I take my iPhone and use the augmented reality view of PhotoPillsвЂ™ DoF calculator app to answer one of the most common questions: I support the theory class with many examples and online tools, including the PhotoPillвЂ™s on-line depth of field calculator, to help students visualize which settings come into play when shooting both shallow and deep depths of field. In my courses, I explain depth of field together with camera aperture, just after the exposure triangle (aperture-shutter speed-ISO).

If thatвЂ™s your case, donвЂ™t worry! YouвЂ™re not the only one. How can you shoot shallow depth of field? Or deep depth of field? When should you use one approach or the other? Where should you focus the lens? What camera settings should you use?Д«ecause while many experts preach the virtues of strategic use of depth of field, almost nobody tells you how to do it.ДЄs a result, many well-intentioned photographers are spending their precious time trying to apply depth of field without even completely understanding the concept itself nor knowing how to properly use it. You arenвЂ™t sure how to really put depth of field into practical use. It can radically transform good photos into images that win hearts and minds.

It is one of the most important tools a photographer can use to create striking images.вЂќДЄnd itвЂ™s true вЂ“ using depth of field the right way is very powerful. вЂњDepth of field is a key compositional element in many, if not most, photographs. Photography master and author, Harold Davis, in his greatВ book, Creative Composition: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques, maintains: 'Master depth of field, and your photos will magically look much better.'