Over the last ten years, digital photography has become a very popular pursuit for many people. Despite the advances in technology, to become a proficient photographer, you will need some help, be it from books, the internet or from photographic courses. There are, of course, many different types of photography, nature, travel, still life but perhaps the most diverse and difficult to master is portraiture, this is because it involves capturing an image that conveys the character of your subject, a person you may have only known for a few minutes. However to achieve this aim the portrait photographer, has for his use, a large arsenal of techniques and tools, all of which will allow the him or her to create the exact mood required from the shoot. Perhaps one of the most important techniques for the portrait photographer is using a shallow depth of field and it is the cornerstone of photographic study.

Depth of field, put simply, is the amount of the subject that is in focus, in front of, and behind the point that you actually focussed on. So why is depth of field important? What it does is allow the photographer to draw the viewer's eye to a specific point within our portrait. Most commonly we want the viewer to be drawn to the eyes. Another useful effect of it in portrait photography is to create a sense of space by blurring the background behind the subject. This also has the effect of drawing the viewer's eye towards the subject.

There are three elements to controlling DoF, the lens, the aperture and the photographer's position. Different focal length lenses create different DoF. A wide angle lens will have a much greater DoF, i.e. more in focus in front and behind the subject, than a telephoto lens at the same aperture. This is one of the reasons portrait photographers prefer to use a moderate telephoto lens to get a shallow DoF.

The second element in play, is the aperture. The wider the aperture, for example f1.8 or f2, the more shallow our DoF. This means that a portrait photographer using an aperture of f2 will get the eyes of his model in focus but the ears and tip of the nose will be out of focus ensuring the viewer is drawn to the eyes. As we close down the aperture, so more comes into focus. This is why landscape photographers shot at f11 or f16.

The final element in the control of DoF is the position of the photographer. For a given lens and aperture, if a photographer moves closer to his subject, the depth of field will become more shallow and vice-versa if the photographer moves away the depth of field becomes deeper.

DoF not only a powerful technique, it is perhaps the most important that the portrait photographer needs to know. By understanding it, you can entirely change the look of your portraits, lifting them from the ordinary to the extraordinary and eye catching. One of the best places to practice this technique is on a photography workshop. Here a dedicated professional will have the time to show you the effect of the three elements we have discussed above. Learning DoF is one of the key parts of becoming an accomplished photographer.

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