Anatomy of Hotel and Resort Photography;  A guide. Episode 3

 

Episode 3;      f-stops and aperture;  why they are important.

 

f-stops are the numbers you usually see on ring or dial of a lens – f 1.8 or f 8 or f22.   These f-stops numbers relate to what is called the “aperture” and can be adjusted by turning them on the lens barrel.  In normal lens, the aperture is a diaphragm opening that can be adjusted to open or close.  The f-stops correspond to whether the hole opening is wide or narrow.

 

 

 

The numbers 1.8 to 22 on this lens actually control what is called Depth of Field(DOF).  DOF is the area between the nearest and farthest objects that are in focus. Preferred DOF , what is in focus and what is not, is of course subjective.  The proper use of DOF though, is what moves your eyes around the image, and is what make a shot great.  You can use depth of field to control how someone views your image.

 

This shot of a table setting in a restaurant was taken with a very narrow DOF which shows the setting and food  in sharp focus and the background out of focus. This makes you look at the table setting(which is the intent) rather than the whole room.   To get this you would use a very narrow depth of field, around f4.

 

To make this simple;  when you turn  the lens barrel to wide open, let’s say 1.8 you are creating a narrow depth of field like the table setting shot.  When you turn the lens barrel to f8 or f22,  your are creating a bigger depth of field. This only works if you camera is set to manual so that you have complete control.

 

This interior shot shows a large DOF, meaning that everything in the shot is in perfect focus.  This was shot at f22.

 

 

This is how I remember the difference;  the bigger the hole(lets lots of light in) the narrower the DOF.  The smaller the hole(lets less light in) the greater the DOF.  So it’s the opposite – bigger hole, smaller DOF – smaller hole, greater DOF.   Okay, this may be too simplified, but when I was starting in photography it did help.

 

Depth of field is very important to any shot you take.  It all depends on what you want, but you have more creative control when you understand the theory and how to us it.

 

My next blog will be an exploration of “shutter speed” and how it relates to depth of field.