Depth of Field and Aperture

What is depth of field?

The amount of shot that will be in focus of your camera is the depth of field.
Large Depth of Field indicates more of your shot will be in focus, either close or far from camera.




Credit: Burtn via deviantart, f/8, Shutter Speed: 1/400

Small or shallow depth of field (DOF) means only part of your image will be in focus, and the rest of the image will be blurred or fuzzy. Like the flower below has only its stamens in focus and the flower itself along with the far background is all in a composed blur. This shot was taken at f/4.5.



You can choose the part of photo you want to be blurred or out of focus. If you want the background blurred choose a larger digit. If you want the front or the place closer to camera blurred, choose a lower number.

                     

Points to remember:

• small aperture = small depth of field / less focus 
• lower f-number = less focus/ more background blur
• lower f-number= brighter image

Where you might require large or small depth of field?

Some photography style require large depth of field i.e. low aperture, like landscape photography or most photojournalism shots.




Small depth of field or large aperture is mostly used on macro photography or portrait photography.




Note: Always Remember, shutter speed also affects the amount of light entering the lens. Changing shutter speed from one point to another, can double or half the amount of light, so if you decrease one and increase the other, you end up having same amount of light getting into the camera. It'll sound confusing but you'll get the grasp on it once you practice it yourself.