I have a Nikon D90 with Nikon Dx 18-105 lens. I have been shooting for a couple of years on auto. But am trying to do more now that I have joined this site. I understand depth of field but can create it. Everything comes out pretty clear on most of my shots. I know I need a low f stop my lowest is 3.5. I don't know if I am doing something wrong but any hints would help.
Your ornaments on the tree shot has a pleasing shallow depth of field. If you look at the difference between this shot and some of your others you will see that you were very close to your subject for it in comparison to many of your other shots. As well as opening up your lens by using your lowest f stop you need to also focus fairly close to achieve the effect I think you are after. Depth of Field is a combination of the wide open iris and the distance you are from your subject. The further away you are the more of your shot will be in focus and the less of the blurred effect, which is what I think you are after, will be evident.
To start, you can shoot in Aperture priority (turn the dial to A), and set your f/ to the lowest, 3.5. This will make your camera determine the proper shutter speed for the available light with the aperture that wide open.
I am assuming you are looking for creamy bokeh in the background with sharp focus, correct? If so, you should ensure that the distance between your subject and the background is appropriate. For instance, if you are shooting a plant (like your most recent shot), the background of the window should be at least a foot behind the plant. You can't just fake depth just by using a wide aperture - you can only enhance it. :)
In this shot, the single ball is about a foot in front of the stack of balls that is in the background.
I might also suggest that you pick up a prime lens, either 50mm or 35mm, so you can further control the depth. Both come with f/1.8 as the widest aperture, and are relatively inexpensive. If you look at f/1.4 lenses, the $$ goes up quickly. I have both - one I got for about $125 retail, and the other I got on ebay for a song!
The method you are using to save your images is wiping the EXIF info from them, so your settings aren't visible to everyone (this can help with tips and critique). Make sure you just "save as" and don't use "save for web" to keep your data.
Hi Joan. DOF changes primarily with aperture and focussing distance for a given camera type. So if you are shooting things at a reasonable distance from the camera, most things will seem pretty clear.
To get a shallow dof, go into aperture priority mode (a great mode btw!) and get close to your subject! Your lens should focus down to about 50cm or so - get in that close on a subject at max aperture (prob f5.6) and I think you'll find you've got a pretty narrow depth of field - may be only a few millimetres. Even stopping down the the aperture won't help enormously at that distance.
For great creative dof, a prime lens with an aperture of say f1.8 is ideal, and Nikon do a great 50mm version for £150/$200.
There are loads of websites which will describe Depth of Field on the internet - just type it into Google and surf.
@swilde@stacypie@snaggy I actually have been trying to get close to my subject . I was placing a lighthouse block on a stool in front of the tree to get bokeh and focusing on the lighthouse but no luck.
Thanks for the info about saving for the web. We use saving for the web on my scrapbooking page so I just used the same method. I will have to work on that. I will play some more with the distance. A new lens is not in my budget in the near future. But I might think about it in a few months. Thanks.
@joansmor - Here is a depth of field chart. SO- if you are at 5 feet at f2, objects from 4.83' to 5.18' are in focus ... everything else is progressively out of focus. It gets interesting in situations like 1' at f8 ... where the entire in-focus range is .05 of a foot. A tiny distance.
A technique to blur the background, with almost any aperture really, is to have a lot more space behind the subject (subject to background) than in front of the subject (camera to subject). By about 3 x 1 at least, More if possible. For closer shots then you have to be more careful and allow wide apertures. Your f/3.5 should be more than adequate for this.
And most important of all, focus carefully on the subject. Use your auto focus for sure, but make sure you lock on to the front subject. Put the active focus point on the subject (eyes if a person, center of bloom if a flower), press shutter half way to lock it, reframe while holding the shutter half down if you want, and then when ready carefully press the rest of the way.
DOF is not just about aperture. As @frankhymus is talking about, it is also about the distance to the subject and the distance behind the subject. Your focus point is important to be on the subject. Bokeh can be created with any aperture with enough distances. I wouls encourage to read more and practice more.
@nanalisarocks Call me old fashioned but I don't do ebay or craigslist. But thinking I was saving for a longer telescope lens and maybe I'd use that money for a smaller one. Thanks for the suggestion.
@frankhymus You know I carefully looked over some pictures I have taken in the past (not ones I have posted) and see what you are talking about. This is really helpful.
What John @chapjohn and I are talking about is the more common concept of "bokeh" (which in Japanese just means "blur" but some people specialize to mean those out of focus circles). What others are talking about and demonstrating is a more complex DoF concept, blur in front and blur behind the focus point. That latter does require a wide aperture and a focus into the picture especially if distance is more than several meters. But at shorter distances, "macro" type distances like here with @bulldog, you really don't need that wide an aperture.
If you follow people talking about "true macro focus" a major question is "Why can't I get a WIDER field in this super close up? I used a narrow aperture and still couldn't get the whole thing sharp." All manifestations of the same issues. Another reference for you to reference or google for is "hyper focal length/distance" which is just a quantification of what and where the field of focus is placed.
Good luck with this concept. It's not that complex, but I guess it has not been pointed out to many folks who sweat the issue.
@frankhymus Okay, when I have my next day off I will try all these out and look up these things you are talking about. This is why I joined this site to get help. And you all have been so generous. I understand bokeh and have driven my great, great niece crazy talking about it this season. I actually found a picture I got it I guess I just wanted a better one. Think I'll post that today and people might over suggestions.
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I am assuming you are looking for creamy bokeh in the background with sharp focus, correct? If so, you should ensure that the distance between your subject and the background is appropriate. For instance, if you are shooting a plant (like your most recent shot), the background of the window should be at least a foot behind the plant. You can't just fake depth just by using a wide aperture - you can only enhance it. :)
In this shot, the single ball is about a foot in front of the stack of balls that is in the background.
I might also suggest that you pick up a prime lens, either 50mm or 35mm, so you can further control the depth. Both come with f/1.8 as the widest aperture, and are relatively inexpensive. If you look at f/1.4 lenses, the $$ goes up quickly. I have both - one I got for about $125 retail, and the other I got on ebay for a song!
The method you are using to save your images is wiping the EXIF info from them, so your settings aren't visible to everyone (this can help with tips and critique). Make sure you just "save as" and don't use "save for web" to keep your data.
To get a shallow dof, go into aperture priority mode (a great mode btw!) and get close to your subject! Your lens should focus down to about 50cm or so - get in that close on a subject at max aperture (prob f5.6) and I think you'll find you've got a pretty narrow depth of field - may be only a few millimetres. Even stopping down the the aperture won't help enormously at that distance.
For great creative dof, a prime lens with an aperture of say f1.8 is ideal, and Nikon do a great 50mm version for £150/$200.
There are loads of websites which will describe Depth of Field on the internet - just type it into Google and surf.
Thanks for the info about saving for the web. We use saving for the web on my scrapbooking page so I just used the same method. I will have to work on that. I will play some more with the distance. A new lens is not in my budget in the near future. But I might think about it in a few months. Thanks.
And most important of all, focus carefully on the subject. Use your auto focus for sure, but make sure you lock on to the front subject. Put the active focus point on the subject (eyes if a person, center of bloom if a flower), press shutter half way to lock it, reframe while holding the shutter half down if you want, and then when ready carefully press the rest of the way.
Good luck!
If you follow people talking about "true macro focus" a major question is "Why can't I get a WIDER field in this super close up? I used a narrow aperture and still couldn't get the whole thing sharp." All manifestations of the same issues. Another reference for you to reference or google for is "hyper focal length/distance" which is just a quantification of what and where the field of focus is placed.
Good luck with this concept. It's not that complex, but I guess it has not been pointed out to many folks who sweat the issue.