Using aperture Depth of Field for better nature photography (DOF) is just a fancy term for how much of the space between your camera and the horizon, or “infinity,” will be in focus in your photograph. Your aperture Depth of Field is LARGE (DEEP) if lots of your scene is in focus; it is NARROW (SHALLOW), if there is only a small range of space that is in focus.
Depth of field exists because of the way camera lenses work in relation to the sensor. But all you need to know is how to make depth of field WORK for you!
A narrow Depth of Field is a super technique when you want to separate your subject from the background, as in the image here. If I hadn’t used a narrow depth of field, the flower would be “lost” among all the other foliage. Narrow depth of field is a great way to remove ugly distractions from your main subject in your photo.
You can control how much of your photo will be in focus and how much will be blurry – this is a great technique you should master. Once you know the tricks, it’s easy, and using it, you can instantly turn snapshots into creative and original nature photographs!
Are you ready to give this a try? Head over to the next article on Depth of Field for Nature Photography.