Shallow Depth of Field: 5 Quick Tips for Beginners

It's time to get creative with Shallow Depth of Field photos!  If you’re just starting out, no need to be intimidated! With a few tricks up your sleeve, you’ll be taking amazing photos in no time!

Shallow depth of field images are stunning and definitely some of my most favorite to shoot, but it can often be intimidating when you are just starting out.

So what exactly is Shallow Depth of Field? This is when you come up close to your subject matter and lower the number on the aperture on the camera (I would say between f-1.2 - f-2.8 depending on the lens).

By lowering the number of the f-stop, you let more light in the camera and then by bringing your lens closer to your subject matter, it brings more focus on the subject that you are photographing and eliminates all the distractions (both in the background and the foreground) by blurring it out. 

While it may be tricky to get right, once you understand the basics of aperture and composition, you will be able to create beautiful images with a shallow depth of field consistently. 

This is great for portrait work, for detailed images, and the list really goes on. 

Here are five easy steps for taking creative shallow depth of field photos:

1. Select a wide aperture:  (An FStop of 2.8 or wider such as F/1.2, F1.4, F/1.8 etc) A wide aperture will produce images with a shallow depth of field. If you don't have a lens that will go that low with the F-Stop, you can still focus on your subject and blur the background. Be sure you are closer to your subject and that your subject is farther away from the background setting. 
2. Set your camera to Aperture Priority mode: If you are not comfortable shooting in manual quite yet, this mode will allow you to control the depth of field by adjusting the aperture setting (F-stop). Once you set the F-Stop, your camera will do the rest and calculate the shutter speed for you. 
3. Choose your focal point: The focal point should be the main subject of your photo. 
4. Move your camera close to your subject and focus on it. The closer you are to your subject, the narrower the range of focus becomes. This results in a shallow depth of field. This means that the background of your photo will become blurred and out of focus, while the main subject will remain in focus.
5. Take the shot and try experimenting with different angles.

I hope this help a bit with this week's photo challenge! If you have any questions, just post below!