Depth of Field & Aperture

The purpose of this assignment is to consolidate understanding of Aperture and how it affects Depth-of-Field. 

• Use a 50 - 70mm focal length (either a fixed lens or set it to the right focal length on your zoom lens. Do not change the focal length for the entire shoot). Cropped sensor equivalent approximately 35mm - 50mm.

• Use your tripod and place your camera in a fixed position.

• Make sure you stay in that same position throughout.

• Set your camera on Manual Focus (it can be tricky to auto-focus on specific figures, but feel free to use auto-focus if that works better for you)

• Set your camera's exposure mode to Aperture Priority (A or Av).

  • Your camera will adjust the shutter speed to calculate the right exposure and this may result in really slow shutter speeds, which is another reason for using the tripod. If you do this in a well-lit area, you won’t need a tripod.

instructions

1. Arrange a still life using 3 objects with clear details in them (such as lettering or designs).

2. Set the first object as close as you can focus with your lens, probably about 0.5m

3. Place the next two objects behind the first one, at an equal distance. Eg. Object 2 at 30cm behind Object 1; Object 3 at 30cm behind Object 2

4. Make sure you can see all 3, so stagger the placement slightly.

Set 1 : Focus on the front figure

1. Set your aperture on your widest possible aperture, you'll get more pronounced results at f1.4 /f2.8. Some of your lenses might not open further than f3.5.

2. Focus on the front figurine. Take a picture.

3. Stop down to f8. Take a picture.

4. Stop down a further 2 stops to f16. Take a picture.

f4.0 (1/60s ISO 200)

f8.0 (1/15s ISO 200)

f16 (1/4s ISO 200)

Set 2 : Focus on the middle figure

1. Set your aperture on your widest possible aperture.

2. Focus on the middle figurine. Take a picture.

3. Stop down to f8. Take a picture.

4. Stop down a further 2 stops to f16. Take a picture.

Set 3 : Focus on the back figure

1. Set your aperture on your widest possible aperture.

2. Focus on the middle figurine. Take a picture.

3. Stop down to f8. Take a picture.

4. Stop down a further 2 stops to f16. Take a picture.

Learning Outcomes

Pay attention to the depth of focus in each situation. How far to the FRONT of your focus point are things in focus? How far BEHIND your focus point are things in focus?

SUBMIT

Once you’ve completed this assignment, upload the following to the link provided by your instructor:

1. One (1) image using Narrow depth of Field creatively.

2. One (1) image using Deep Depth of Field creatively.