Dennis Glennon's PHOTO TIPS
Depth of Field Made Easy!
Have you ever looked at a photographic image and wondered, "How did they do that?" Well after reading this article, you will be well on your way to understanding how to achieve the results you want when creating impressive photographs. Understanding depth-of-field is the key to being able to translate what you see in your mind to what
will show up on film.
While at first it can be quite overwhelming, once mastered, you will never have to go back and re-learn 'depth-of-field'. Some persistence will be needed while learning to understand the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, but once mastered, you achieve what I call "photographic freedom" which is when you can concentrate
on the artistic side of the creation process rather than the technical.
I struggled with the concept of depth-of-field when I first learned photography. I initially took an adult education course at a local high school, and then studied from two books written by wildlife photographer Joe McDonald. I took my camera manual and his books into the field with me until I had a complete understanding of "depth-of-field".
I'm partially dyslexic, so this only made learning an already confusing concept more difficult for me. It was challenging to straighten out all the numbers and settings in my mind. Everything seemed reversed. Considering this, I will first give a very non-technical explanation of depth-of-field, with descriptions, using my images as examples. I will then provide a wonderfully effective and easy lesson for you to learn from.
