depth of field

Focus, Depth of Field and Sharpness in Landscape Photography

One thing I see and hear more than anything in landscape photography is people asking how to get their images sharp from front to back. Where should they focus? What camera settings should they use? It is vital to know how to take images that are sharp throughout, but to always have that as your goal can really affect and limit your creativity. Often a scene or subject can benefit from some careful thought regarding which parts of it you would like to be sharp and in focus, and which parts you may want to appear slightly soft or out of focus. This technique can be used to make areas of interest in your image really stand out due to them being sharp and in focus. Also, the creative possibilities are great and a soft foreground or background may give your photograph a unique look and atmosphere. So next time you are out taking some images consider if whatever you are photographing should be sharp from front to back, or could the final image look better if parts of it are soft? If you’d like to hear me talk about this topic a bit more, and see me use this technique to capture an image, you can watch my video here.