All language subtitles for 04 - Depth of Field

Begin, let's first define
what depth of field is.

It is the range or area

in front of the camera
that is in-focus.

You can have a large depth of

field or a small depth of field,

also known as wide and
narrow or deep and shallow.

Next, there are three
factors that affect whether

our depth of field is small or

large or somewhere
in the middle.

And those factors are
aperture, focal length,

and the distance
between the camera

and the subject. Aperture.

Low f-stop, meaning a larger
opening gives us more light,

which results in a
smaller depth of field.

A high F-stop means a
smaller opening which

lets in less light and gives
us a larger depth of field.

Focal length.

For focal length, It's
the opposite of aperture.

A low number, which
gives us a wider shot,

also gives us a larger
depth of field.

Whereas a high focal
length creates

a tighter shot and gives
us less depth of field.

The smaller the distances
between the subject

and the camera results
in less depth of field.

And a bigger distance
provides more depth of field.

As we can see in this example,

when we focus on the truck
which is further away,

the trees in the midground and

the deep background
also come into focus.

Whereas when we focus on

these twigs which are
closer to the camera,

everything else beyond
that loses focus.

When a subject is
close to the camera,

as we adjust the focus ring
to focus on the subject,

we see that less is in focus.

And if we adjust the focus on

a subject further
from the camera,

we see that the
depth of field gets

bigger and more of the
frame comes into focus.

Using distance to affect
depth of field can also

be applied between the
subject and the background.

A perfect example of this
is head shots for actors.

When the actor is close
up against the wall,

the wall is relatively in focus.

But if the actor
takes a few steps

away from the wall and
we adjust the focus,

the background becomes blurry.

The added bonus of this is
that it makes the actors

stand out and directs the
audience's focus to them.

So when composing a shot in

deciding what should be in
focus and what shouldn't.

It is the combination of

these three factors that will
decide where the depth of

field lands and whether it's

small or large or
somewhere in-between.

Something else to be aware of

is the size of the
camera's sensor.

A larger sensor will have

a shallower depth of
field overall and

a smaller or a crop sensor

will have a larger
depth of field.

For more depth of field,

we choose a higher aperture,

a lower focal length.

We increase the distance

between the camera
and the subject.

And for less depth of field,

it's the exact opposite.

We can choose a lower aperture,

a higher focal length,

or we can decrease

the distance between the
camera and the subject.