Depth of Field, A Landscape Photographer's Best Friend

Artist/Photographer: Wayne Wilkinson

Title: Northern Illinois Landscapes
Date: April-May 2007

Camera(s) Vivitar 5100; Fujifilm S700

Purchase: Direct from Artist, enquiries welcome

NOTICE: *Any attempt to download images

will result in permanent system failure to your hard drive*

DO NOT DOWNLOAD THESE COPYRIGHTED PHOTOS~!!

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Maximum depth of field should be the goal for most efforts at landscape photography, particularly when you wish to convey a sense of presence within a multi-dimensional landscape. There are, however, times when you might wish to have a single subject be the central theme of the composition - allowing that subject to clearly stand out against the background landscape. In such a composition, the background should be left a little out-of focus, while the primary subject should be as sharply delineated as possible. At such times, rather than stopping down to the smallest aperture opening possible, set your aperture at the mid f-stop range. When a single subject deserves to be the central focus of your image, shoot it at f/5.6 or f/8.

It is in this aperture mid-range where the sharpest delineation of an individual subject can be achieved. I don’t fully understand the reason for this and don’t wish to bore you with such technical details. But it is important to understand that the sharpest delineation of an individual object within a landscape occurs at the middle f-stop range - at f/5.6 or f/8.