Depth Of Field Photography - Mastering The Technique!

Professional photographers follow certain techniques to take such stunning photographs, portrait and pictures in which the subject is clear and focused whereas the background is slightly blurred.

Here are a few steps for taking those picture perfect shots.

Technical
Firstly, it would be preferable if the camera you are using has a large plate for imaging. Also the lens being used should be fast. This means the lens should have an aperture larger than f2.8.

A camera with a large aperture produces pictures or images that have a shallow depth of field. This means that all areas in front and behind the subject are blurred while the subject alone is concentrated upon.

As far as possible, the subject's head and shoulder should fit the frame. Also if you are taking a picture of a person, you should focus on the eyes.

Technique
Practice makes perfect. No job is done perfectly only once. Patience and perseverance is required to make something good happen. While taking pictures, use a lens with a wide opening and that has a stop on one or two to take a series of photographs.

Focus or areas like the nose, hair and ears using different apertures for each. You can choose different options once the pictures are out.

To create a shallow depth of field, you must use a longer lens such as a telephoto, and set it on maximum zoom. Then stand as close as you possibly can to the subject.

For subjects in motion, for instance a car, the camera needs to be moved just as the subject is. This means that the subject needs to be followed. The ISO400 films are best for taking shots like these. Along with this, the camera needs to be set to the ISO mode to ensure that it works.

While taking subjects in motion, you need to ensure that the camera's body is always steady. Focus on the subject the way you see it through the lens. This technique ensures that the subject appears crisp and clear while the background appears to be a blur. This emphasizes the subject's movement making the picture come to life.

Photo effects
There is another way of creating the same shot without having to go through all the technicalities that is required for taking such a picture. Software has made this magically possible. The software photoshop has a function called blur that blurs the background of the picture in such a manner that it looks like a professional photographer has taken the picture. Still the software blur tends to look artificial when compared to a blur that is taken through a camera that is authentic and truly beautiful.

Unfortunately or fortunately, the software technology has advanced to give us the CS2 Photoshop version that can enable anybody to blur a picture. This option considers the depth of field of the picture. This means the software is able to blur the pixels that appear further away more and blur the pixels that appear nearer less. This function can be adjusted such that you can achieve just about any result that you desire.

Depth of field, as a concept, is really easy if you are able to understand it. If you are serious about photography, with enough practice you can become the master of this technique. All you need is perseverance, patience and enough determination to learn, both from experience and from mistakes, so that you can move towards becoming a better photographer and creating beautiful shots.