3 - DEPTH OF FIELD

Depth of field relates to how much of your shot is in focus. A small amount of focus is called a shallow depth of field, the opposite is a deep focus.

For a polished, cinematic effect, use a shallow depth of field (giving focus to a single item, with everything else in the shot appearing blurry). To achieve this on a DSLR, use a large aperture setting (that is, a small f-stop – see Click here) to target a precise point of focus. Be careful to double check that your object is sharp – it’s easy to accidentally find focus on, say, the eyelashes rather than the eyeballs, and tricky to tell on a small screen.

If you are struggling to achieve as shallow a depth of field as you’d like, try moving further away and zooming in on your subject; this will mark them out from the background.

If you’re shooting on a smartphone, tap and hold the screen to lock the focus where you want it. The AE/AF lock sign will appear.

If you’d rather shoot with deep focus – perhaps you’d like to present a bustling scene for the viewer to absorb in its entirety, instead of just drawing their attention to a single point – use a small aperture (a larger f-stop).

Take time to play with different focus effects, with blurry foregrounds, blurry backgrounds and focus pulls – a technique where you change the point of focus during the shot.