Everyone likes blurred, creamy, bokehlishus
backgrounds. Right? It isolates the subject, vanquishes
distractions, and tells the viewer exactly where to look.
At least one photographer, Peter Zelewski, has become a current master of the excellent use of it (50mm @ f1.2):
The thing is, while I like the shallow depth of field sometimes, I definitely don’t like it ALL the time. And often it’s just plain annoying to me. Because I also like complex pictures, that fill the frame with lots of information—even for portraits sometimes.
So, how could I like two completely different approaches? And, more importantly, when do I choose to use what?
I used to think it was a matter of how much “story” I wanted to include. A bustling city in the background could be used to add to the story, or it could be suppressed to keep things simpler. And things like that.
But then I saw a photo that made me think depth of field can also be about the implied emotion in the subject. Similar to the post on low contrast lighting, an isolated subject creates a more intimate, pensive mood. Like they’re thinking about something deep and emotional.
We actually don’t have all that many technical variables to work with, and it pays to get as much as possible out of every one. Choosing the right emotional f-stop might be one way.
At least one photographer, Peter Zelewski, has become a current master of the excellent use of it (50mm @ f1.2):
The thing is, while I like the shallow depth of field sometimes, I definitely don’t like it ALL the time. And often it’s just plain annoying to me. Because I also like complex pictures, that fill the frame with lots of information—even for portraits sometimes.
So, how could I like two completely different approaches? And, more importantly, when do I choose to use what?
I used to think it was a matter of how much “story” I wanted to include. A bustling city in the background could be used to add to the story, or it could be suppressed to keep things simpler. And things like that.
But then I saw a photo that made me think depth of field can also be about the implied emotion in the subject. Similar to the post on low contrast lighting, an isolated subject creates a more intimate, pensive mood. Like they’re thinking about something deep and emotional.
Clear backgrounds can imply thinking, too, but not the same kinds of thoughts. This photo has a pretty similar pose, but I don’t get impression she has the same kinds of thoughts going on. The two photos have very different emotional vibes.
We actually don’t have all that many technical variables to work with, and it pays to get as much as possible out of every one. Choosing the right emotional f-stop might be one way.
