Definitions
“Focal length describes the angle of view of a lens. That is, how much of a scene before us the lens captures. The longer the focal length of a lens, the narrower its angle of view. On the other hand, lenses with short focal lengths take in a much wider angle of view.” (www.photographylife.com)
“Depth of field is the distance between the nearest and furthest elements in a scene that appear to be ‘acceptably sharp’ in an image.” (www.photopills.com)
Examples of Distance in Photography
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- Photographs taken in the the same spot at different focal lengths
- Lower numbers correspond to wider views
- Higher numbers correspond to narrower views
- Important to consider how much of a scene should be captured because it determines the following
- Focal lengths of the lens being used
- Distance the camera is from the subject
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- Photographs taken gradually further away to compensate for different focal lengths
- Lower numbers correspond to higher distortion of subject’s closest features to the camera
- Higher numbers correspond features looking flat despite subjects distance from the camera
- Important to consider how different focal lengths will impact how subject’s appear in a composition
- Middle row has common portrait focal lengths
- Experimenting with higher or lower focal lengths can determine the desired effect
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- Features of the dune and the tree seem flat due to long focal length
- Subject and background seem as though they compressed or stacked on one another
- Size of subject and background are more true to reality than a short focal length shot might be
- All parts of the image are in focus since all parts of the scene are very far from the camera
- Not distracting since the background doesn’t contain intricate details
- Occurs because subject is far from the camera, relative to the position of the background
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- Features of the lighthouse and far shrubbery seem flat due to long focal length
- Much of the foreground shrubbery seems one-dimensional or compressed
- Objects in the near foreground are very blurry due to focus on a far-away object
- Foreground shrubs are an interesting element that shows depth in the scene
- Shorter focal lengths would make it difficult to incorporate small objects into the composition in combination with a large subject in this way
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- Illusion that the bird is peaking out of the grass
- Much of the foreground grasses seem one-dimensional or compressed
- Grasses in the near foreground and far background are blurry due to shallow depth of field focused on the bird subject
- This isolates the subject well using clear focus just on the bird
- Long focal lengths allow images of animals with great detail to be taken while staying away from the wildlife as to not disturb them
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- Features of the ball seem more pronounced and rounder than background due to short focal length
- Ball’s position on the beach is distinguishable and does not seem compressed on the background
- Larger depth of field allows for most of the scene to be in focus or not overly blurry
- Subject remains separated from the background due to apparent size and proximity to camera in the scene
- Short focal lengths allow for objects in the very near foreground to appear very large
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- Features of the plants and shovel do not seem overly flat or overly round due to medium focal length
- Shallow depth of field allows for specificity when identifying the subject in the photograph
- Blurs the rest of the foreground and background
- Occurs because the subject is close to the camera relative to the position of the background
- Person in the background still assists the narrative without being distracting since they’re out of focus
- Implied that the person is taking part in the same action that the subject is a part of
- Few visual elements are used but provides lots of context about the scene by using shallow depth of field to simplify the composition
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- Features of the ice seem more pronounced and rounder than background due to short focal length
- Different rows of ice are easily distinguishable and does not seem compressed on the background
- Very large depth of field allows for all of the scene to be in focus
- Helps the narrative because the subject and its setting is clearly identifiable
- Composition is comprised of a dominant foreground subject and a background that gives context to the subject’s role
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- Macro photography allows small subjects to be documented up close
- Extremely shallow depth of field isolates the miniature subject from rest of the scene
- Blurs everything but very small focus area where the subject is placed
- Captures minute details in order to further a narrative
- Special macro lenses require getting close to the subject while a similar effect can be achieved with a long focal length lens from a distance