We all know that the aperture can affect
how much of our image is in focus, but
did you know that there are two other
things that are just as important? Well
I'm going to tell you all about it in this episode.
Hi everybody welcome to this
episode of Exploring Photography right
here on AdoramaTV. I'm Mark Wallace
coming to you from Istanbul Turkey, and
I'm in front of this giant ancient
aqueduct, and we're going to use that
aqueduct to show you how we can change
our depth of field. That is, how much of
our image is totally in focus, and where
the image falls out of focus, and to do
that in addition to this aqueduct we
have a fantastic model.
Her name is Nesli Avci, and she is sort of
famous here in Turkey, for your
motorcycle incredible journeys... and yeah!
Anyway check her out on Instagram, you
can see her at Nesli_Avci,
here it is right there, and then you can
see all of her adventures around the
world. It's pretty cool all right, so what
we're gonna do today is, we're going to
talk about the three things that impact
our depth of field. Now most of us know
about the aperture, that's the adjustment
on our lens from f/22, f/16 etc. And we
know that that impacts how much of our
image is in focus, but there are two
other things that will impact that as
well. The length of our lens, otherwise
known as the focal length, and the
distance of our camera to our subject. So
what we're going to do is, we are going
to start by talking about the aperture,
and how it really makes a huge impact. So
Nesli, if you'll zip over to your spot,
I'm gonna get on my spot, and what we're
going to do here is notice this
background, this aqueduct that I'm
shooting against, and the first thing I
want to do is, I want to make that
out-of-focus. That's called shallow depth
of field, and to do this I'm going to set
my aperture on my lens to the largest
opening, and that is f/1.4 on this lens.
Now your lens might not go to f/1.4. It
might go to 2.8, or 3.4 or
5.6, but you want the smallest
number, or the largest opening. And so
we're going to do that first. So if you
look right at me, and I'll focus this up.
I'm trying to get as much of the
background and as possible in this image,
Here we go, click! Alright! So we can look
at this image, and you can clearly see
that the background is out of focus, but
Nesli is totally in focus now. Watch
what happens. I'm gonna change my ISO
because I am also going to have to close
my aperture. So I'm going from f/1.4, all
the way to f/16. I'm closing down that
aperture, and I'm increasing my ISO. So my
shutter speed doesn't also go too slow,
and we get a blurry image. Okay, so the
same spot. I'm going to focus here on
Nesli eyeballs. That's all done and
then we're going to take the same
picture, and now you can clearly see that
the aqueduct and everything behind her
is in focus. Take a look at these images
next to each other. So the first image
really nice soft, out-of-focus background
the second image... well... everything is in
focus, and that's not really pleasing in
what we want. Well so now, we know that
the aperture has an impact on our depth
of field. But what about focal length?
What happens when we change lenses?
Well, we're going to do that.. next! So to do
this, what I am going to do is I have a
21mm lens, and on my camera a 50mm
lens and what I'm going to do
here is, I'm going to make sure that
they're both set to f/3.4. I'm not going
to move from my place. Nesli is not
going to move from her place, so we're
gonna shoot both pictures at the same
exact distance. So aperture and distance
stay the same, the only thing that's
changing is the focal length. So we're
gonna start by setting our 15 mm
lens at f/3.4.
That's the widest aperture that my 21 mm
lens can shoot at, and we'll
take our first picture. So look right
here, exactly.. Like.. that's perfect. Oh I
love that. I love it!
Okay, so we have our beautiful shot of
Nesli. I'm going to take this 50 mm lens off,
and replace it again
with the 21 mm lens. This is a
much, much wider lens. Now what this is
going to do is, it's going to give us a
much greater field of view, so we're
going to see a lot more, but it's also
going to change our depth of field. So
that's what we're going to do now.
So we have our lens set at f/3.4. Now I'll
make sure everything's good to go.
It is, I'll make sure I focus and okay.
Exceptional. I love it.
Now we're gonna take a shot of, oh my
gosh... everything in the park! Alright you
can see that this shot, you can see
everything and notice that background.
The background is much more In focus than
the shot we did with our 50mm lens.
We'll show you those side by side,
here's the 50 millimeter lens. Here's the
21mm lens. You can clearly see
that our focal length is making a big
difference. Well there's a third thing
that impacts our depth of field, and that
is the distance from our camera to our
subject, and so to do this I have changed
my lens once again I'm using a 35 mm lens,
and I'm going to shoot
at f/2.0. Now the only thing I'm going to
do in this situation is, I'm going to
move closer and farther away from Nesli.
So the very first image we're going to
shoot, I'm going to get really, really
close. In fact as close as I can focus,
and then I'm going to go farther away. So
watch what happens to our background. So
I'm gonna come as close as I can get.
This is about as close as my camera can
focus right here. Yep beautiful. We'll
shoot that, excellent, you look great.
Alright. Now I'm gonna go all the way
back, about right here. So I'm almost out
of frame.
I will refocus. This is exactly the same
thing. The same exact aperture value, same
lens. Now take a look at these two images.
It's pretty crazy, the only thing I did
is I got closer on that first image, and
you can clearly see that. That is a
beautiful image, with really nice soft
background, and then the second image
where I'm far away, well everything's in
focus. It doesn't look very good at all,
and so getting a little bit closer with
this lens wins. There you have it, three
things that impact our depth of field.
Our aperture value, our focal length and
our distance from our subject. Now you
can try this out yourself. Just go home,
get a lens, put it on this wide an open
aperture as it can go, take a picture of
a beautiful model. If you have one around!
And then take your aperture, close it as
small as it will go. Take a few pictures,
see how that changes your depth of field,
then start playing with different focal
lengths. If you don't have multiple
lenses, and you have a zoom lens the same
thing is true. You can zoom in, and zoom
out, and see how that changes your depth
of field, and then also get close, and
get farther away, and see what that does
to your images, and I think you'll be
surprised. You can try it all out, and
with a little bit of practice, you'll just know
in your mind which lens at which
aperture value, at what distance does
what, and you'll start picking your
favorites.
Well thank you so much for
joining us today. You've been a really
fantastic model, and don't forget to
follow her on Instagram, and follow me on
Instagram. Here is my Instagram link
right here. You can check out all the
behind the scenes from my video shoots
and travels around the world, and also
make sure you check out the Adorama
Learning Centre, and also don't forget to
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Alright thanks for joining us.
I'll see you again next time!