DOF lesson

[peter_burns1]

I have seen mention of too much DOF on the F828, I miss understood

what DOF was but think I am now getting the hang of it. Could

someone confirm that too much DOF means that it is hard to focus on

a subject and leave the background blurred?

 

I have just seen a comment by Marvin on my last (shrunk) picture in

my portfolio of the girl photgraphing the rainbow, is there anything

I could have done to blurr the man out out, and would that have been

right? As you can see it was exciting for all when this magnificent

rainbow appeared, all are busy in their own way trying to photograph

it or tell others about it. I was trying to capture the whole mood

rather than just the girl, but take on board Marvins comments.

 

It seems that we are moving into the subject matter of a picture

which at at first I was not too concerned about, as I am trying to

understand the equipment to get the best from it. I do understand

that the subject matter is also a very important part of

photography, as someone mentioned on here, you have have all the

equipment but not the eye to get a good shot. So, would it be

possible to use this photo as the example for a quick DOF lesson,

also taking into account how YOU would have set up this 'one off'

spur of the moment chance to get an unusual scene, bearing in mind

time was of the essence.

 

Thanks.<div></div>

[karel_peijnenborg]

Are you sure this is DOF blurring? The shoes of the man are pretty sharp, and so is the sand where he stands. He probably just moved to fast for your 1/60 exposure.

 

Regards,

 

Karel

[peter_burns1]

Hi Karel, as I said I am confused about the definition of DOF, I am sure the camera would have been in auto mode, so this is what an F828 would take. I was just wandering if it would have been better to blurr out the man on the right, and if so how would or could I do it. I guess I have so many pixels I could crop the image anyway, but then that may be cheating :-)

 

Any views on the correct course of action in this case would be appreciated, and of course the definition of DOF and where, if it is there, it shows in this picture.

 

Cheers,

[Marvin]

The trick to restricting the DOF is to set the aperture to as wide a setting as possible. Your 828 has an "aperture priority" control on the mode dial so play with the aperture setting at the low numbers (means wide open iris diaphragm). However, the lenses on the point & shoot digital cameras do not permit as much DOF contral as do the lenses of SLRs. I have learned this lesson with my Canon G2 - it's tough to eliminate distracting backgrounds. One way to try to do it is in the post-processing using Photoshop. It would take a better Photoshop person than me to do this well - I've tried but in my hands the results are less than great. Photography enthusiasts are not very forgiving when it comes to distracting backgrounds due to DOF.

[peter_burns1]

Thanks for that I will have a practice this afternoon. Regarding the distracting background, I am a little confused about this, I understand if the girl was my target OK, but I was trying to capture a whole scene, what do you think I should have done here?

[karel_peijnenborg]

Sorry, of course, the man on the right of her with the phone :)

 

With digital, you might have very large DOF, so you would need to focus much closer than the girl. If you are in automatic, that would mean a focus lock on something half way the distance of the girl (or less), but that also means an exposure lock, most of the time, so watch out. And shoot as wide open (= low F) as you can.

[peter_burns1]

I took a picture of a water droplet on a branch, trying to get a house in it, this really blurred the background. I guess I should ahve used a tripod as the focus had to be quite accurate, but it was just to test and see what a bluured background would do to focus the eyes on a point. The photo is the last in my portfolio if you have a moment to tell me if that is an example of NON DOF. Cheers,

[Marvin]

I think that in trying to capture the "whole scene" you run up against other people's notion of what they find esthetically pleasing. I guess it's sort of a question of appreciating art - not all will agree but after studying a subject for a long while sometimes you come to appreciate some of the basics of the art form.

 

The attached photo (not mine) shows the subject engaged in some activity while the background is out of focus and not distracting. Perhaps you would have opted for the background to be more in focus to help demonstrate the subject's environment but this photographer used a shallow DOF to direct your attention to the woman.

[larry_tudor1]

In that very specific picture,the guy distance to the camera is pretty much the very same as the distance of the girl so even with a medium format film camera with a tele and a wide aperture,it was a lost cause to try to put him out of focus(blurr is not the good term here since blurr means unsharp because the object was moving or the camera was moving)The only option is/was Photoshop with the poor looking result you usually achieve in artificially playing with the sharp focus of the background.(here in fact,the guy is not part of the backgroung,he is part of the(side)foreground.

[larry_tudor1]

Well...sorry.All I said probably did sound stupid!Just found out the ....second guy...in the background.So,just make like I said nothing!Would be handy to be able to delete our own stupid post here:-)

[karel_peijnenborg]

Oh yes, your droplet pictures show narrow DOF. Just look at the branches and twigs going out of focus. Close object distance helps a lot, as do long focal lengths. But if you would try to take a picture of the girl that close, you might catch a very different mood!

[peter_burns1]

I understand Moods OK, my wife is an expert :-) Anyway I have added a further photo to my portfolio, it is one of the Island with no zoom. If I remember correctly my wife took those two, and the zoomed in one ws 22mm so not at full zoom. At least this should help people see what the F828 can do, I have been very happy so far, but then again I have not had the option to try a Canon. I do however think the price of the F828 is fantastic, I looked at the prices of the Pentax and Canon, they scared me, plus there was the worry about what lens to buy, at least with this the thinking is taken away from you :-) For an upmarket holiday snapshot camera I am more than happy, so much so it is sucking me into the photography lark, I am loving every minute of it, and seeing more things in my lense that I hadn't noticed before.

 

So what is the best way to improve, is there a set way that you should start off in photography, rather than just snapping away? I just hope I don't wear out the 2.2 gb microdrive :-) It has never failed me yet and holds 550 photo's at the last count.

 

Thanks again to all of you for your valuable time, it is appreciated I can assure you.

[Marvin]

I think that one way to sharpen your photographic skills is to join a local camera club. There, enthusiasts will meet to discuss all things photographic and as you participate with them your own skill level will rise rapidly.