Depth of Field

JavaGirlBT · #1 2013-09-06, 10:55am

I suck at getting depth of field. I can never remember if the aperture number needs to be small or large to get it. Is it even possible with this type of small-area photography?

I'm using a Nikon D50 with a 55 mm lens.

SuzyQ · #2 2013-09-06, 1:39pm

Do you mean you want it all to be in focus? You want the aperture to be a larger number. That is a wonderful pose for those.

JavaGirlBT · #3 2013-09-06, 1:42pm

Thanks Suzy! I'll try it.

JavaGirlBT · #4 2013-09-06, 1:49pm

It worked! Thank you Suzy!

Alaska · #5 2013-09-06, 2:02pm

You can also look into using a technique called hyperfocal distance to expand the range of what is in focus.

There is also another possibility using PhotoShop in which many images are taken and spliced together resulting in an expansion of depth of field.

And as you have discovered, F 5.6 has a limited depth of field with F 22 being greater. The down side is that a smaller aperture requires more light either in terms of a longer exposure or a much brighter light source.

julieann1674 · #6 2013-09-06, 2:07pm

Ellen, I think it looks great. And I just learned something too, Thanks Suzy!

SuzyQ · #7 2013-09-06, 2:54pm

Excellent money shot Ellen!

Silver Moon Lampwork · #8 2013-09-06, 7:27pm

Wow, that really made a difference. I need to learn stuff like that.

Emily · #9 2013-09-11, 12:54pm

I read a photo book that explained the relationship between aperture and depth of field this way:

Imagine ten people standing in line, one behind the other as if they were waiting in line for something. If you want only the first person in line to be in focus, set your aperture at f1. If you want everyone from the first person to the fifth person to be in focus, set your aperture at f5. If you want all ten people to be in focus, set your aperture at f10. So, higher aperture number equals more people in focus.

The numbers in this example aren't intended to represent actual aperture settings that you'd use. (I don't even know if there is such a thing as an f1 aperture. The largest I've encountered is f1.8.) It's just a sort of story to make the concept easier to understand and remember.

ROC · #10 2013-09-11, 1:13pm

Cool! Thanks for asking about this, Ellen. DH and I were just trying to figure it out yesterday. Raise F stop. Check. Increase exposure time. Check. At least I know what to look up in my handy little reference guide now!

And great explanation, Emily. Makes it so easy to remember which way to go!

You guys ROCK!!!

kikosun · #11 2013-09-11, 10:29pm

That's a very clever way to remember! I'm just starting to stock a small etsy shop, and working on photography skills now. Thanks for the tips

lillianw · #12 2014-02-09, 10:34am

That is a beautiful pic and spoons, Ellen. I'm going to be working on learning how to use these settings later. May I ask what your set-up is? What are you resting your pieces on? And is that a photo tent? The picture looks perfect!

MardiGrasGlass · #13 2014-02-09, 10:44am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emily

I read a photo book that explained the relationship between aperture and depth of field this way:

Imagine ten people standing in line, one behind the other as if they were waiting in line for something. If you want only the first person in line to be in focus, set your aperture at f1. If you want everyone from the first person to the fifth person to be in focus, set your aperture at f5. If you want all ten people to be in focus, set your aperture at f10. So, higher aperture number equals more people in focus.

The numbers in this example aren't intended to represent actual aperture settings that you'd use. (I don't even know if there is such a thing as an f1 aperture. The largest I've encountered is f1.8.) It's just a sort of story to make the concept easier to understand and remember.

The easiest way to understand aperture is the paint and bucket scenario.

If you pour paint into a bucket without a funnel (f/1.

it will splash all around the sides of the bucket (blur).

But if you use a funnel the smaller openning (f/8+) the stream is focus into one area at the bottom of the bucket and prevents splashing.

And so far, I think the biggest aperture lens is an f/.92. The 50mm or 85mm 1.4 is the next most common lenses.

oh, and...

JavaGirlBT · #14 2014-02-12, 4:34pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by lillianw

That is a beautiful pic and spoons, Ellen. I'm going to be working on learning how to use these settings later. May I ask what your set-up is? What are you resting your pieces on? And is that a photo tent? The picture looks perfect!

Thank you Lillian!

I have the Doug Baldwin light set ups, 2 of them. They're a frequent topic of discussion in this forum. The spoons are resting on gradient background paper. There is no tent, just the lights on either side of the subject.

JavaGirlBT · #15 2014-02-12, 4:35pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by MardiGrasGlass

The easiest way to understand aperture is the paint and bucket scenario.

If you pour paint into a bucket without a funnel (f/1.

it will splash all around the sides of the bucket (blur).

But if you use a funnel the smaller openning (f/8+) the stream is focus into one area at the bottom of the bucket and prevents splashing.

And so far, I think the biggest aperture lens is an f/.92. The 50mm or 85mm 1.4 is the next most common lenses.

oh, and...

Thanks for the further explanation!

And LOL at the batman thing. I'm glad I peeked in to this forum, otherwise Lillian would have thought I was ignoring her.

Laura B · #16 2014-02-13, 12:45pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emily

I read a photo book that explained the relationship between aperture and depth of field this way:

Imagine ten people standing in line, one behind the other as if they were waiting in line for something. If you want only the first person in line to be in focus, set your aperture at f1. If you want everyone from the first person to the fifth person to be in focus, set your aperture at f5. If you want all ten people to be in focus, set your aperture at f10. So, higher aperture number equals more people in focus...

I think this is a brilliant way to explain to people who don't really want to know what's going on, technically, but who just want to be able to remember which way is which.

As someone who explains things to people a lot, I love having different ways for people to remember things.

I'm so glad you posted. Thanks!!!