The SHALLOW Depth of Field TRAP

this is Canon's 885mm F over 1. 2 lens it tends to be my most used lens while I'm shooting weddings it's great for many reasons but one is that at f1. 2 I can have my subject in sharp focus and I can throw the background into a blurred abstraction this is very useful at weddings because you can't control the light location and sometimes you can't even control where you're standing and it's tempting to also want to show off what your lens can do especially if you've paid out a lot of money for those extra aperture stops the shallow depth of field is an easy way to immediately set your Imes apart from phone snapshots and cheaper cameras I'm sure a lot of people buy that first f1. 4 50 mil or whatever and they go around shooting everything at f1. 4 and getting beautiful background blur and there's nothing wrong with that either a lot of my favorite photography of all time has a gorgeously shallow depth of field it's an aesthetic I like and I frequently apply to my own work it's rare that I'll take a portrait without a very blurred background I recently went to the Taylor wessing photographic portrait prize at the National Portrait Gallery which is my favorite annual photographic exhibition almost every single one of those photos used a very shallow depth of field and that's because those images are about the viewer being drawn to and connecting with the subject those kind of portraits generally have a very still very calm feel to them it's like time has been stopped and we're being invited to take a moment and look deeper at someone's life and experiences a shallow depth of field helps achieve this feel but not all photography works like this cuz some is more about a wider scene some is frenetic some is about color and shape and light and dark and some is about freezing a moment of action rather than creating a quiet composed scene where time doesn't exist and a super shallow depth of field is a beautiful thing but if you always default to just shooting wide open you deny yourself the opportunity to develop some really key compositional skills thoughtful attention to the appropriateness of your depth of field is an essential thing to do as it really shapes the whole visual impact and all the storytelling elements within your image so with that in mind here are six key tips to use depth of field more effectively to create better images I'm going to start nice and simple know your camera and lens or more precisely get to know how much will be in focus at different aperture stops and distances using your particular setup the two big factors that affect your depth of field are aperture and distance a wider aperture indicated by a lower f-stop number results in a shallower depth of field additionally as your focal point moves farther away from your lens your depth of field will expand so how out of focus do you want your background a slightly blurred background will draw your viewer's gaze to your subject whilst keeping the context of their environment reasonably discernible a very blurred background will communicate that the setting isn't important only the subject experiment with your equipment learn how abstracted things become and how deep your depth of field is at different apertures and different distances take a look at this shot by Joel sternfeld of two Wall Street interns having lunch in this shot we have two subjects one sitting closer to the camera than the other sternfeld knows what aperture to use and the distance he needs to be from his subjects to make sure that they are both in Focus while simultaneously letting the background fall out of focus it's essential to understand the suitable f stop settings when photographing multiple subjects imagine capturing a group shot at a significant event only to realize later that some of the faces are out of focus an important consideration when shooting something like a portrait is how much the background plays a pivotal role in shaping The Narrative and the visual impact of the image the background can serve as a complimentary element that not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also provides valuable information

about the subject's environment and personality and story so take a look at this image by Chad hun this is a portrait of a 19-year-old soldier in Afghanistan in 2006 adorned in combat gear she lights up a cigarette in the shadows tucked away from the host of military vehicles and sandbags that decorate the scene behind her if hunt had chosen to go in closer and use a narrow depth of field to isolate his subject we would lose the background and subsequently the context of her situation the background here is a key part of the narrative it adds depth and dimension to this portrait it establishes a visual dialogue that goes beyond the mere depiction of a person rather than dealing with a selective depth of field at all it's also good practice to use a deep focus use a wide lens set your aperture high and then everything will be in focus from the close-up elements in the foreground through to the distant objects in the background so an aperture of around f8 and upwards is most likely what you'll need although this will vary depending on your sensor size and your focal length so do some tests with your setup you might need to push your ISO up a bit to make sure a shutter speed doesn't fall too low but using a deep focus can really Elevate the quality and the impact of your images as well as being one of the best ways to improve your compositional skills in just general visual awareness cuz when you can't hide behind a shallow depth of field you have to learn how to balance all the elements in your frame and this is a skill that will dramatically improve your photography just across the board both deep and selective focus but it's more than just an exercise because this type of Photography can really enhance your storytelling because it incorporates the entire environment into the narrative provides the viewer with a holistic perspective and therefore can make a more meaningful connection to the subject matter it can create images where the viewer is invited to take longer and peruse the frame and take in everything that the photographer is showing them without obviously being told where to look a lot of Street photographers use this technique and one of my all-time favorites is Alex web Alex Webb is an absolute master of composition his works are so visually rich and vibrant and distinctive looking at his work you get a real sense of his profound understanding of the relationship between people and the environment they inhabit it's rare to see any out of focus areas in his images instead he layers and divides up the frame creating Dynamic and multifaceted collages of life and energy he has an amazing ability to balance multiple elements in his compositions where they exist both as individual components in their own right and also as vital parts of a wider picture there are numerous techniques he employs in order to do this but a key one I've noticed is his adherence to compositional grids having a compositional grid in mind when framing up a shot can really help balance out your image and make the elements work harmoniously together one thing I noticed when looking through Alex web's work is that most of his shots fit very nicely with a Golden Triangle grid the Golden Triangle grid is made by drawing a diagonal line from one corner of the frame to the opposite corner creating two triangles two lines are then drawn that run perpendicular to the diagonal and join the frame at the other two corners you then compose your image so the elements are placed along these lines with key components being placed where the lines intersect here is an example of how the Golden Triangle Le grid works over an Alex web image as we overlay this grid we can see that this woman in red is placed where the lines intersect and these boys then follow the diagonal with the green ball falling on the second perpendicular this image here has this boy falling on the intersection while these people again follow the diagonal in this image we can see a strong use of the diagonal with these kids in the foreground filling that big triangle Le now with this one he's actually tilted the camera so the arm holding the cup comes in diagonally and lines up with the dog which is placed on the intersection in this image we have this person here sitting on the intersection while the angle of the bus shelter follows the diagonal there are other compositional grids that sometimes fit well over web's photos for example the golden spiral or the fire grid match up L here but it's

this Golden Triangle grid with this strong use of the diagonal that seems to be a common theme throughout his work I don't know if the continued use of this grid is a conscious choice or not he's been quoted as saying that he can smell the opportunity of a photograph which implies that this is an artist who's learned to work intuitively letting his subconscious mind drive this is a great way to work as being too analytical demands remembering BR too many rules at once color harmonies contrast compositional rules camera settings being too scientific with it can limit your connection with the scene and your willingness to experiment and to push the boundaries a bit so my advice would be to familiarize yourself with compositional grids the fire grid the golden spiral Dynamic symmetry find one or two that you feel work for you and keep these grids in mind when composing images and with enough practice it would just become second nature it will eliminate the need for conscious evaluation you'll develop an instinctual sense of where to place elements in your composition one thing a shallow depth of field does easily for you is it enables you to simplify your shot without much effort when using a deep focal plane you need to work with alternative methods to reduce the amount of visual noise so let me take you through some techniques that Alex Webb often calls on that help make his photos really visually striking while Webb shoots digitally today he used to use Kodak Chrome film and this is a slide film with a fairly limited dynamic range using this limited dynamic range to his Advantage web often lets large areas of his work fall into deep Black Shadow using this kiaro scuro technique a technique I made a whole video on a few years back is a great way to highlight specific elements within a scene and draw the viewer's attention to where you want them to look the large areas of black can also form abstract shapes and create a sense of mystery and mood that creates a more impactful and dramatic visual experience Webb often uses areas of shadow in unexpected and non-traditional ways he'll often obscure faces and other parts of people in his shots and this compels the viewer to concentrate on the composition in a more abstract manner webs workor often juxtaposes these large areas of Shadow with strong saturated yet minimal color palettes color is something that can easily make your shots feel too noisy if you're not strict in limiting your palette with color it's arguably more important what you leave out than what you put in keep on the lookout for multiple elements that share an analogous color theme you can also not back certain colors in post by pushing their Hues and saturation and lightness if you use Lightroom the calibration panel is good for this I go into detail more on this feature in my eight tips for better color video One powerful way Alex Webb is able to manage having multiple elements in his shot is subf framing sometimes this is very literal using doorways or mirrors to create frames within frames and sometimes he breaks up the composition using blocking or layering or even sometimes Simply Having a person in front of a panel or a wall one particular Hallmark of his is to use vertical lines dividing up the shot often right down the middle using a post or a pole or a wall or a window or some other device when you found a subject you want to shoot try looking for things to shoot through to frame your subject with try getting both the frame and the subject in Focus this can really help elevate your shot it can give it context a sense of depth sometimes even a visual abstraction to create a more interesting and dynamic photograph another technique that crops up in web's work is repetition this is quite a simple but powerful way to create engaging images look for people all doing the same activity all wearing the same color mimicking the same body language in some way or even just all headed in the same Direction the last technique of Alex webs that I wanted to highlight is how carefully he chooses his position which he shoots from he often creates compositions where all the elements kind of fit together like a jigsaw there's rarely any awkward overlapping everyone has their own space But as well as this he frequently has legs hands arms torsos with the head obscured that poke him from the edge of the shots or from behind objects to fill in an area of the scene with a lesser photographer this

might look accidental or poorly composed but because of the meticulous way he arranges the other elements to fit together coupled with his use of the Golden Triangle grid these truncated limbs don't look accidental they work there's a lot more to Alex web than just these things we're only just scratching the surface here when thinking about your depth of field it can be beneficial to use manual focus instead of autofocus if you shoot on a camera with an evf focusing manually will greatly help you get a good understanding of how deep your field of focus is as you will literally be able to see it moving through your shot as you pull Focus but even if you're shooting on something that doesn't preview your depth of field focusing manually can help you be more intentional with how you're using your focus play it can heighten your awareness of how the scene you're seeing will translate into a still image form it will also give you more control and it will slow you down which can help you be more deliberate and have a more thoughtful approach to your photography carefully considering how clear the background is pretty Paramount in your photography because it really does play a pivotal role in shaping the overall composition and just the general visual impact of your shot it can change the whole feel meaning the mood practicing photography where the background is in sharp Focus can be a really powerful tool in helping you to develop your own ability to understand how colors and lighten textures into play how shapes work together whatever your style shooting with the Deep depths of field will help you develop skills that will translate across all your work we all love that beautiful shallow depth of field but try stopping your aperature down a bit venture out of your comfort zone because that is where the exciting stuff happens I'll see you next time