Controlling Shallow Depth of Field in Photography: Practical Guide to Making Your Food Photos 3D
Watching a 3-D movie is a great experience. I am sure you have seen at least one 3-D movie. If not, do it. It is amazing (specially if you see one of those Disney shows in Magic Kindom. It feels like you are part of the experience. In photography, a photo that pops out is engaging and mesmerizing. It makes you feel that you are just there and part of the photograph. So, how do you do bring third dimension in photography? Read on…
Practical Guide to Making Your Food Photos 3D
In a previous post, we gave an introduction to depth of field. In this post, we will look at how depth of field is created.
Depth of Field and 3D
A photograph has two dimensions – height and a width. The third dimension comes when depth is added to a photograph. The “feeling” of depth in any photograph comes when the background in separated from the main subject in the photograph. Look at this photograph, see that raspberry? Look at it for a sec or two.
Depth of Field in “Plate of Raspberries and Blueberries” by .craig
Do you see how that first raspberry seems to be separated or distanced from the background? Do you feel there is a depth to this photo? Can you see the third dimension? The raspberry, and to some extent the blueberry, stand out among the rest of the bunch. This is done by a technique called…
Selective Focusing
In general terms, selective focusing is a technique where you focus on the main subject and use shallow depth of field to put rest of the objects in a photograph out of focus. We’ve talked about shallow depth of field in how to make your food photos pop out. I think shallow depth of field is one of the most useful technique to make a jaw dropping impact. As seen in the photo above, the in-focus raspberry is sharp and makes an impact on the viewer because the rest of the objects, raspberries, are out of focus. Let’s look at how to get the depth of field you want. Here are…
3 Ways to Control Depth of Field
These three ways let you create depth of field when you click the button to capture the photograph. Let’s look at these three ways – aperture, distance between subject & camera and focal length of lens:
1. Aperture
We talked about aperture and we looked at the relation between aperture and f stop and how aperture/opening changes with f number. We mentioned that large f number = small opening. Let’s extend this a little further. Depth of field changes with change in aperture. As the aperture increases and f number decreases, the depth of field decreases too. As we have seen that aperture will be greater at f2.0 than it will be at f8.0, the depth of field will be shallower at f2.0 than it till be at f8.0.
To Make Your Photo Pop-out: If you wish to make your photo pop-out by using shallow depth of field, use smaller f stop. As we talked, the smaller the f-stop, shallower will be the depth of field. This will mean the subject in focus will stand out with most of the objects in the photograph.
Keep in Mind: If you choose to use smaller f stop for creating shallow depth of field, the aperture will be large and more light will get in the camera. And this should be compensated with increase in shutter speed or ISO (to a certain extent) as we discussed in the basics of photography post.
2. Distance
Distance between subject and camera (or lens) also influences depth of field. This is a powerful option when you cannot change the aperture due to some lighting constraint. Depth of field changes rapidly with the distance between subject and camera. The closer the subject is to the camera, shallower is the depth of field. This means, when you are 5 feet from the subject, you will get greater depth of field than if you were 2 feet.
To Make Your Photo Pop out: So, here to get shallow depth of field, you will have to move closer to the subject and the closer you get, the better you subject will pop out.
Keep in Mind: Now, keep in mind that as you get closer or as you change your distance, your composition will change too. You will find that as you step towards the subject you are eliminating some things out of the frame. Stay alert of this fact and before you click, check your frame to make sure you are including everything you need to.
3. Focal Length
When you just can’t move closer to the subject, the next thing you can do is bring subject closer to you – by using a lens with greater focal length. Focal length is the third factor that affects depth of field. The larger the focal length, shallower is the depth of field. So, if you are using a 50mm lens, you can decrease depth of field by using a lens greater than 50mm. A lens like 200mm will have much shallower depth of field than 50mm lens.
To Make Your Photo Pop out: As you may have already understood, to make your photos pop out use a longer lens, longer meaning one with long focal length.
Keep in Mind: As with moving closer, you need to be careful with what is included in the frame and what is not. The longer focal length present another challenge – shake. Since by using longer focal length, you bring the subject closer and magnify the subject, everything else is magnified too. Meaning if you shake the camera even minutely, the resulting shake is magnified too. What happens when you shake the camera? Photograph is blurred. So what will happen if you magnify everything by using a lens with greater focal length? Camera becomes too sensitive and getting sharp picture is challenging. Is this getting too complicated? Well who said, photography was simple 
But hey there are ways to get around this. In fact there are several ways. Use tripod and/or use greater shutter speed. I’ll just leave it there, for now.
After this, you may be wondering, out of these three ways to control depth of field which is…
The Best Way to Change Depth of Field
As you may have seen each factor has its strength and its disadvantage. The best way to change depth of field depends a lot on the situation you are in. If you have limited space between subject and camera, there is little you can do about it. The option then is to either change the lens and try a lens with larger focal length or change the aperture. You are the best person to make this decision and only you can decide what is the best way for the changing depth of field.
Depth of Field in Point and Shoot
If you use a point and shoot camera, all this talk of depth of field may seem to you like some worldly riches and treasure that only DSLR users can possess. But believe me when I say, that this seemingly impossible to attain prized possession is available to point and shoot users too. I plan to explain in detail how to create depth of field by point and shoot camera – soon.
Have you used depth of field before?
Have you tried to make your photos pop out? Can you share an example below? What have you found challenging when you tried to create depth of field?
Update: In next few weeks, we plan to share examples of depth of field from our readers. If you have an example that we can include in our next post (with credit and a link back to you), please leave a comment below.
Photo Credits: Anticipating Turkey by theilr
Related Posts
- Making Photos Pop Out of the Screen: Introduction to Depth of Field
- Day 2: Create Depth in Your Food Photos – 31 Days of Food Photography Tips
- Share Your Food Photograph
- How to Improve Food Photos Without Buying Any New Photography Gear
- How I Shot This – Food Photography Gear and Set Up
Great post! My default is a shallow depth of field, typically around 5 ish. I like to find what I want to be the focal point of the image, and have that perfectly in focus – giving a bit of a blur to the rest helps draw attention to that focal point as well. So not only does a shallow DOF add “depth”, but it can also influence what you want to be seen from the image. Here is one of my examples of shallow DOF – http://jenncuisine.com/2009/08/california-style-cheesecake/
Another thing to add to the extending lens part – when I extend my lens all the way out to 200 mm, it is absolutely imperative that I use a tripod. Even in good lighting and with vibration reduction turned on, hand shake comes through much more easily, either because the camera isn’t as centrally weighted, or because small movements have a larger effect on zoomed in photos.
Hi Neel,
I uses a Canon Powershot A550. I recently took a pic of my pineapple rolls trying to get the shallow depth of field. My photo link is here http://elinluv.blogspot.com/2010/02/pineapple-rolls-cny.html
Please advice
and I am really looking forward to your post on getting the effect of depth of field from a point and shoot camera.
Regards,
Elin
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Neel,
I love your post, I have learn so much by visiting your site. Like Elin, I own a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20/B 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization but totaly new to the photography world and any instructions to use a point and shoot will be welcomed!
What can I say! With these wonderful readers I am excited to write more and more often. Thank you for all the kind words.
@Elin and @Monica,
Point and shoot tutorial type post, is coming in next few weeks.
Thank you for your comment.
Here’s a photo of cucumber salad where the almond on top was the focal point. I am still learning about depth of field, but I’m excited to try new things.
Sarah,
Thank you for sharing the photograph.
I have been practising controlling DOF a lot and I must say that your post has taught me even more
Here my last two pictures show dof http://breakfastlunchdinnerandpunch.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-heart-beets-for-you-and-salad.html
and the first picture in this post http://breakfastlunchdinnerandpunch.blogspot.com/2009/12/have-blooming-great-new-year-everyone.html
and the first picture here. I think this one is my favourite http://breakfastlunchdinnerandpunch.blogspot.com/2010/01/cuban-roast-beef-boliche.html
Please excuse my enthusiasm in including so many links! BTW Jenn’s tip about using a tripod is good advice
Hi Neel,
I discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago and it has really helped me very much, thank you for making food photography an easier art to learn…..
Here are a couple of links showing depth of field, the first is a picture of the blackberry, the second is a piece of cake….
http://neetabali.blogspot.com/2010/02/weekend-colors-salads-and-fruits.html
http://neetabali.blogspot.com/2010/01/quinoa-crackers-and-cake.html
I began food photography, bought my first camera four months ago when I began my blog…..and I have fallen in love with it, always excited to try new things and your sharing on this blog is helping me a great deal….thank you once again
Neeta
Neeta,
Welcome to the blog. Thank you for stopping here and good to know that this is helping you. Would love to know what other topics specifically would you help you.
Neel
Great post Neel! Very informative.
Mowie, its always my pleasure to see you here. Thank you for stopping by.
Thanks for that lesson!! I never thought of it that way before. Great images.
One useful tip I’ve found concerning shallow DOF – if you are going to submit your pic to a food photography site (TS, FG, etc.), you are generally going to be more successful if the foreground of the photo is in focus rather than choosing to highlight/focus on an element that is more mid-depth. I often get “dull, unsharp” types of rejections if the very foreground of my picture isn’t what I chose to focus on.
Jenn, thank you for that wonderful tip.
Very handy.
Looks like I’m pretty convinced to buy myself some new lenses this year.
Thanks for sharing, Neel!
Neel,
Thanks for the helpful tips. I am one of those with a point and shoot who lusts after a DSLR. Until then, I do the best I can. Did you write the post mentioned above about achieving depth of field using a point and shoot?
Kathleen
I just stumbled upon your blog (and i’m so glad i did)Thank you so much for all the info:) its very informative. i just bought myself a new Nikon D0 and i’m totally new to the world of photography. Thanks for making things simple and easy to understand.
I’m still struggling to take pics with shallow depth of field. This article has been very helpful and gives me a lot to work with.
Kathleen
Hey Neel, since I am miserably behindhand, lemme ask a simple question: did you do that post on DoF for P&S? I’ve always sighed at photos with shallow DoF thinking I’d never be able to achieve that with my point and shoot. Thanks for your feedback!
Loved the article I always try to use a shallow DOF around 2, here is an example of one of them http://marissatunon.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/img_0261bl.jpg let me know what you think, i think it really pops out!