A number of you posted some great questions regarding the Unexpected Imageย and the biggest theme I noticed in the main questions was explainingย Depth of Field. In essence, many of you asked, “How could I use a 1.7 fstop and have the dog in focus and the couple so sharp?” Let’s give you a few good Photo Tips to make this yours!
There are all kinds of scientific explanations around Depth of Field, but if you know me, you know I don’t enjoy the scientific route as much. Instead I like to use my pointer finger! ๐ Here we go! It’s a kinesthetic exercise to help in explaining Depth of Field. Ready!
1. Hold your pointer finger in front of your nose so that it’s close to your nose but you’re not going cross eyed.
2. As you look at your pointer, notice how all your vision around your pointer naturally blurs. Your eyes have focused on the pointer and that’s the only thing that’s in sharp focus.
3. Now slowly move your pointer finger away from you, and you’ll notice how your surrounding vision starts to become less and less blurred.
This is Depth of Field!
Our eyes are constantly readjusting our Depth of Field based on how close an object is to us. Our cameras simulate the same practice. When we take our 50mm lens and get super close to our subject, like a baby’s eyes, our lens often makes one eye sharp and the other one soft. This will never work for a client. But why is this happening? Isn’t that the purpose of having a low fstop lens?
Has anyone ever had this happen?
The answer to the problem is that you’re too close to the subject. The more you back up, the more you can put into focus. Just like your finger, the farther you move your finger from your eyes, the more in focus you have surrounding your finger.
The closer you get to your subject with a low fstop, the less depth of field you have to work with. Think of the word depth. Closer you get, less depth. The farther you are from your subject, the more depth you have. It’s like the depth stretches–widens. And this is why I can shoot Shachar and Jason walking toward me, both in focus, at a low 1.4 fstop.
If you love the close up images, and you can’t frame your image tight enough to get both eyes in focus, you may want to consider investing in a Macro Lens. Photographers often use Macro Lenses for filling the frame with baby feet, hands, eyes, etc.
Some of you asked if I cropped the image in Post Process. We NEVER crop anything. I learned early on that cropping after a shoot was killing way too much time. With thousands of images from a wedding, I didn’t have time to crop half of them. So Brian and I work extra hard to frame an image the way we want it. Frame it, crop it, in the moment of shooting it.
I hope this helps Depth of Field seem a little more accessible and less scientific. Bottom line, when using a low fstop, the closer you get to your subject the less you can have in focus. The farther you get, the more you can have in focus.
Tell me your thoughts. Questions? Is it making sense? Was explaining depth of field helpful? Vist my Facebook page and let me know b/c I want you to see that you CAN DO THIS!
xoxo, Me Ra
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THANK YOU! You are so awesome….
p.s. I’m working on my photography website. Super nervous, since once I hit the “go live” button, does that mean I’m really a photographer???!!!!
perfectly explained…I like to explain to my friends how similar the camera lens is to our eyes…shutter is how fast or slow we blink…setting focus, depth of field etc. great explanation of this application of f stop. I never thought of it that way. I’m a visual learner, so it’s perfect how you explained it!
Wow, Me Ra! I love the pointer finger explanation! I’ve heard others try to explain this (on video tutorials, etc.), but when I went to apply it I would have to stop and try to remember it. Now I have a great, quick, easy visual! Thanks so much! Miss you guys…
Wow..what a great way to explain that, you’re awesome! Can you maybe explain how the focal plane affects the DOF as well. That part took me a little longer to grasp, but once I got it, everything started to click.
Thank you! I’m not a blogger, but I LOVE your blog & your instructional DVDs (and of course your photos). I’m amazed you don’t crop your pics, that’s awesome. Whenever I use a low fstop & try to get super close to my subject, my camera won’t let me focus on it…annoying! So I usually end up getting further away & having to crop. After reading this I think a macro lens would indeed help.
Wow, it makes SO MUCH SENSE!Frame & crop at the time of the shot. Sticking my finger in my eye…I’m so near sighted already…but wow Me Ra, I might learn about photography yet!(now if I could just read that darn code that’s required to enter this…:( )
Me Ra, I’m amazed that you never crop! I certainly TRY to frame the picture the way I want the final product to be, but when my subject is moving around, I find that it’s impossible! For example, when someone is walking toward me, like a bride, I want to be sure to get her eyes in focus, so I’m focusing on her eyes (duh!). As a result, I have all this empty space above her head. I can’t take the time to focus on the eyes, lock focus, and then re-frame, I’d lose too many shots. Besides, she wouldn’t be in focus anymore! So how do you deal with that?
Thank you for your explanation. It was great! I have both the DVDs and love checking out your blog. I’m wondering…any plans to do a workshop in Phoenix anytime soon? I don’t plan to ever become professional, but love taking pics of my kids and would really like to be the best I can be at it.
Thank you, thank you! I just love reading your blog, been following for over a year now and have a couple of your DVD’s. There is just so much to learn, but I love how you explain it all. Thank you for sharing all you do!!
Helpful? YES! I’ve studied this stuff. I know it in my brain, but the way you explain it makes it so much easier to internalize, which is what you (or rather, I) have to do in order to make all these calculations in a split second. Thanks yet again.
LOVE the way you explain things!!! ๐ Quick question though on the cropping…if you frame the shot when you take it then what if the client would like to order it as it looks in an 8×10 or 11×14 ? Then some of the image (the way you shot it) will get cut off and lose the impact of the composition. Or am I totally missing something?
Makes perfect sense – again. Your instructions are always so concrete and easy to understand. Thank you. I am stuck with trying to shoot from farther away – like to get a body shot (increasing my depth of field, right :)). Even when I feel like I have focused on the eyes or face, when I get my shot into the computer, it still looks fuzzy around the eyes. I only seem to be able to get the clear, crisp look in the eyes/face when I am really close to the subject. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you teacher Me Ra!
You truly have a gift for teaching.
[…] tighter frames with buttery, blurry backgrounds using lower Fstops. You’ll be putting our target=”Photo Tips w/ Me Ra Koh” title=”Photo Tips w/ Me Ra Koh”>Depth of… from yesterday into practice with a COMFORT […]
I second Lisa’s question above.
I love your help Me Ra, great explanation!
*ding, ding, ding, ding* Yes, perfect sense. Thanks.
makes so much sense and helps me understand the concept better! thanks for your sincere and informative tips. ๐
YES! This makes so much sense! It just clicked. Thank you!
anything lower than 2.8 blows me away….i still don’t have a lens yet that will go lower! great great pics.
Makes sense now! Thank you!
Oh man, this post just reminds me how much I wish I’d got the 50mm lens instead of the 85mm. I love the 85, but you have to get REALLY FAR AWAY to use it in the first place, let alone get a DoF that works for you. ๐
I THIRD Lisa’s question! Plus, I’ve had issues when I am backed up from people (in a park and at the beach most recently) using my 50 1.4 without a flash and not getting them sharp. I use a Canon XSi, I’m starting to wonder if it’s the limitations of the camera for the type of photography I like, because I tried the shot in P mode with auto ISO as well as all Manual mode based on my knowledge and still wasn’t getting the family sharp when I viewed the images full size in Lightroom later.
Most of the photographers I see who’s photos I like (and are sharp) use similar settings (aperture, ISO, Shutter speed, no flash fired) but 90% of the time I see they are shooting with a 5D body.
I didn’t use the lens totally wide open, only about 2.8 for most pictures and 1.8 for a couple of shots and then 5.6. I like the butter, blurred background too, and I was only shooting two or three people on the same plain. When I ask people (photographers in the area) in person, they always ask, “did you use your flash, did you use your tripod?” That doesn’t help me.
More people have been asking me to take some family pictures because they see my photography; but now I’m nervous that I won’t give them sharp enough images to even blow up to an 8×10. Obviously, I have a lot to learn. Here is a temporary website that I published through Showitsite’s free service if you want to take a look at what I have done. http://justaddcolor.showitsite.com/
Thanks for all you do to support women photographers, you seem like an incredible woman. I’ve been following you for some time but never comment. Sorry this is such a long one.
(PS I love the teeny-tiny smiley face at the very bottom of your page.)
That was the best explanation on depth of field. Thank you.
This is so helpful!
my digital photography teacher made this part
so confusing! the whole f-stop thing was quite hard for
me to get, so that is why sometimes my ‘depth of field’ assignments wouldn’t come out too great.
but this is really helpful advice and I shall put it to practice while I shoot my images for your contest! ๐