Depth of Field
This week’s topic will be Depth of Field (DOF) . Remember that I am putting together a food photo glossary for those terms that may not be as commonly known. I will also try to link as many of them in the text to the wikipedia entries.
What is this Depth of Field I speak of?
“The depth of field is the distance in front of and beyond the subject that appears to be in focus.†(*)
The wikipedia has a very extensive discussion of DOF and I would recommend your slogging through the non-math parts, maybe twice.
I like to visualize the DOF as a slice of paper (representing the focal plane) that floats in front of my camera. It can have different thicknesses and positions in my photo depending on the setting in the camera, the setting in the lens, the tilt of the camera, and the position of the camera relative to the subject.
