Depth of field is the area in which a photo will appear sharp and in focus. This “sharp zone” will be different for every photo, but can be controlled by a variety of different factors. Some of these factors include aperture and the distance of the subject from the camera. A deep depth of field appears to create a focus on the whole photograph, from the subject to the background. A shallow depth of field focuses on the subject and makes it sharp but makes the background blurry.

Depth of field is important as it can make or break the composition of a photo. It can make a difference between a good photo and a mediocre photo. The three factors that affect depth of field are aperture (f-stop), distance between the lens of the camera and the subject, and the focal length of the lens. A large aperture creates a shallow depth of field and a small aperture creates a deep depth of field. The closer the photographer is to the subject, the shallower the depth of field becomes. And in terms of focal length, the longer the focal length is, the shallower the depth of field becomes. In order to get a good depth of field, set the camera mode to Aperture value, then adjust the aperture, length from the subject, and the focal length.