Play with depth of field

You don't have to venture far to take a great image. In fact if you get down on your knees in your garden a simple blade of grass can look amazing! A blade of grass? We hear you cry. Yes, if you use a shallow enough depth-of-field a blade of grass can look pinsharp and picture perfect against a very blurry background. If parts of your garden are a little untidy this technique will hide this too!

Gear
A macro lens is needed such as one from the camera makers or Tamron , Tokina or Sigma. If you can, use one that has a slightly longer focal length like a 100mm rather than a 50mm for better compression. It does mean, though, that focus is even more critical because depth-of-field is so shallow. A ground sheet, kneeling mat or even a bin liner will keep your knees or if you're laying down body dry and if you need extra support you could use a Gorillapod but a beanbag or just shooting hand-held would okay.

Technique
You need to use a wide f/stop tp get the right effect. The aim is to get as much of the subject in focus as possible without losing the nice blurry feel but don't over blur the shot as this will distract from the subject. Try f/5.6 or f/8 and use the camera's depth-of-field preview button to check the aperture's effect on the background. It works great on blades of grass, insects and small flowers. If you live near a rapeseed field try isolating a specific flower or part of the field out to draw attention to it. You could try blurring part of the foreground as well as the background to create a frame for the subject.



You've read the article, now go take some fantastic images. You can then upload the pictures, plus any advice and suggestions you have into the dedicated Photo Month forum for everyone at ePHOTOzine to enjoy.