Depth - Straight Images

Depth - Work Diary

For Depth, I took photos on two separate days, on one day taking some photos in the studio as well as photos in public on both days. During these photoshoots, I focused on capturing narrow depth of field, and changing where the focus points were.

This photo is my favourite of the photos I took out in public.

I like this photo because it clearly presents depth through a narrow depth of field. This image also presents both saturated colours and muted colours, creating a contrast in colours as well as a contrast between dark and light tones. The contents of the photo present a contrast in moods, as the flower represents summer, whereas, in the background, there is a brick building that creates a contrasting mood to the flower. The focus point has been set well, as only the branch with the flower on it is in focus, and all of the bushes behind it are out of focus.

This is my least favourite of the photos I took out in public.

 

 

 Although this image shows depth through a narrow depth of field, there are other aspects of this photo that I don't like. I feel like it could be framed badly; some of the bench is not in the frame, and it is not quite in the center of the image. There is also a person in shot, who has half of his body out of the shot. Finally, I feel that the background was not very interesting, and should have been the part of the image that was out of focus, as I feel the wooden bench would have created an interesting texture if it was in focus.

Below is my favourite photo from my studio photos.

 

I like this because it displays a subtle but clear use of depth. While it doesn't create a dramatic narrow depth of field , you can see that the camera is sharply in focus, while his face is only slightly out of focus, therefore, attention is drawn to the camera. Also, with the focus point being at the front of the image, we are drawn to the first thing we see. I also like the way this photo has been framed; the subject is neatly placed into the middle of the frame.

This image is my least favourite from my studio depth shoot

I feel like the subject held the camera to closely to his face, therefore, both the camera in his face are in focus, and there is little depth shown. I feel that there is also a lack of other formal elements used in an interesting way, meaning the image just shows a very small amount of depth between the camera and the subject. This photo may have benefitted from being taken closer to the subject to further defocus the background, and being taken from a different viewpoint would have given it a difference from the rest of my studio depth photos.

If I were to shoot depth again, I would try and look at taking photos in a certain place, but changing where the focus point is and what is in focus, which is something I only touched on lightly. I would also bring in some props for the studio, and try and get some depth images in there from different viewpoints.

Contact sheet depth

Depth - Definition

Depth, or Depth Of Field, refers to the zone of the photo which is sharp and in focus and how big this area is. If the area that is in focus is large, we refer to it as a large depth of field. A large depth of field will usually mean most or all of the photo is in focus. On the other hand, if the area that is in focus is small and the rest of the image is defocussed, we refer to it as a narrow or shallow depth of field.
Here is an example of an image with a wide depth of field.

As you can see, most of the picture is sharp and in focus. Now here is an example of an image with a narrow depth of field.

As you can see, only a small area on the chain is in focus, and the rest is defocussed.

Image Bank - Depth

Depth Of Field is the size of the area that is in focus. It is the space in front of and behind the focal point that still remains sharp

This is an example of shallow depth of field. As you can see, there is only a small amount of the image that is in focus and the rest of the image is very defocussed. To achieve a shallow depth of field, you need a low f stop value e.g f3.5. The closer you are to the subject, the shallower the depth of field will be. 

This is an example of wide depth of field. You need a high F stop e.g. f22, which is a very narrow aperture. As you can see, all of the picture is in focus, which is what we call a wide depth of field. Generally, the further away you are from what you are photographing, the wider the depth of field will be. 

This is use of a narrow depth of field. The focus point is near the front on the padlock, while the rest of the image behind it is out of focus. The f stop would have been around 3.5.

However, this image has a very wide depth of field. This means it would be taken on a narrow aperture e.g. f22. The wide depth of field means everything in the picture is in focus.