Photo How To

Today's helpful beginners guide on the crucial topic of depth of field comes to us from the experts at Great Big Photography World, an instructional YouTube channel staffed by expert instructors whose goal it to help inexperienced shooters improve their skills.

This eight-minute primer begins with a question: "Have you ever taken a photo and wondered why the background is so blurry in some shots and crystal-clear in others?" Or maybe you've heard terms like aperture, f/stop, or shallow depth of field, but you're unsure exactly how they all work together.

Our unnamed instructor summarizes his lesson like this: "We'll discuss depth of field (DoF), one of the most misunderstood and overlooked settings in photography that 90% of beginners struggle to master."  He promises that his eight-minute video  "will instantly transform your  photography—making images appear more cinematic, intentional, and professional."

You may be surprised to learn that these important DoF techniques go far beyond selecting the most appropriate f/stop for the specific task hand. In fact there are several other very important considerations—like the focal length of your lens, the size of a camera's sensor, and both subject distance and background distance.

The foregoing criteria all work together to create a variety of pleasing effects, whether you're after razor-sharp landscape photographs or soft, moody images with creamy bokeh. This tutorial is a bit different from other DoF tutorials we posted in the past because it's illustrated with striking visual examples that demonstrate how six key factors interact with each other for optimum results.

The Great Big Photography World YouTube channel is a great resource for straightforward shooting and editing advice, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time to explore.

We also recommend watching the tutorial we featured with a notable British pro recently who demonstrates why the direction of light is just as critical as it intensity for capturing amazing photographs in the field.