Shallow depth-of-field can be an important technique used to achieve good subject separation in a wide range of photographic genres. Wedding, portrait, nature and macro photography are some of the common areas where shallow depth-of-field is often desired from a creative standpoint.

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Sensor size is irrelevant.

If a plethora of photography articles and YouTube videos are to be believed… we ‘must’ buy full frame camera gear if we want to achieve shallow depth-of-field. This is nonsensical of course. There are four basic factors that directly help us achieve shallow depth-of-field… and sensor size is not one of them.

Silly comparisons.

Often we’ll see a silly comparison where someone will compare the relative shallow depth-of-field in photographs captured by cameras utilizing different size sensors, shot from the same distance to subject, using the same aperture, and same equivalent field-of-view. Then, a claim is made that full frame equipment achieves shallower depth-of-field than a smaller sensor camera… ‘all things being equal’. Using camera gear improperly in an arbitrary and forced comparison so it cannot achieve a desired result, does not constitute ‘all things being equal’.

Over the years I’ve used full frame, cropped sensor, 1″ sensor Nikon 1, point and shoot bridge cameras with 1/2.3″ sensors, and M4/3 gear. Each of these systems has its own attributes to which a photographer must adjust their technique. Using a smaller sensor camera in the exact same manner as a full frame camera would be idiotic. As would using full frame gear in the exact same manner as we’d shoot with M4/3 equipment.

Four fundamental considerations.

There are four fundamental considerations when we want to achieve a specific depth-of-field with our images. Theses include:

• distance to subject
• subject distance to background
• aperture
• lens focal length

These four fundamental considerations apply regardless of the camera gear that we own, and the size of the sensor inside our camera.

Distance to subject.

If we want to achieve shallow depth-of-field we need to move in closer to our subject. Conversely, moving away from our subject creates deeper depth-of-field.

Subject distance to background.

As photographers we always need to be aware of the backgrounds in our compositions, and how far away those backgrounds are from the subject in our composition. This is especially true when we want to achieve shallow depth-of-field.

For example, in the image above I used a shooting angle that purposely positioned the subject fly against a background that was quite distant from it. The resulting very shallow depth-of-field created good subject separation.

If we compare that sample fly photograph to the one above, we can see that the background is much closer to the subject in the second composition. This resulted in not as shallow depth-of-field, even though the second image was captured using f/14, rather than f/16. If you check the EXIF data you’ll also find that I was much closer to the subject fly in the first sample image.

Aperture.

Stopping any lens down will increase depth-of-field. So, if we want to achieve shallow depth-of-field it is important to shoot our lens as wide open as possible given available light, the size of our subject, our creative intent, and the other fundamental considerations noted in this article. The image above was shot with my long telephoto lens wide open at f/6.3.

If we examine the EXIF for the image above, we can see that I stopped my lens down slightly to f/8. This was done to help ensure that all of the bird would be in focus. When a bird is facing us directly, or has a longer beak it is often advisable to stop our lens down slightly if we want the entire bird to be in focus.  In this case the background was reasonably distant so it went out of focus, even though an aperture of f/8 was used.

If the bird was perched to allow for a profile shot, I could have opened my lens up to f/6.3 . That would have allowed me to still get the entire bird in focus, while also achieving even shallower depth-of-field, thus blurring the background more.

The photograph above illustrates how using a wide open aperture of f/2.8 can help achieve shallow depth-of-field. As you check the EXIF data, take note of the focal length used.

Lens focal length.

The longer the lens focal length we use, the shallower the depth-of-field will be. If you check the EXIF data you’ll see that a focal length of 300 mm was used for the bird image above. I was fairly close to the subject bird at 4.7 metres away, and captured this image with the bird up against a dark, monochromatic background. I shot my wife’s lens wide open at f/6.7. All of these factors helped to create good subject separation.

When shooting with smaller sensor camera systems it is important to remember that the equivalent field-of-view of a lens is not relevant when considering depth-of-field. A lens will perform optically based on its actual focal length.

Considering multiple factors concurrently.

Ideally we will have the exact lens with us for the genre of photography we are pursuing… and our creative intent… in terms of creating shallow depth-of-field. Obviously this is not always the case. There will be times that we will need to adjust our physical distance to the subject… often moving in closer.

We’ll need to determine the right shooting angle to put the background as far away as possible from our subject. We’ll need to determine the most open aperture we can use given the size of the subject being photographed. And, we’ll often use a longer lens focal length.

There will also be occasions when we may need to shoot up at our subject by positioning our cameras down low. Having a camera with an articulating rear screen can be very helpful for this type of shallow depth-of-field image.

Adjust your technique based on the camera gear you are using.

Forget about all the the drivel you’ve watched on YouTube or read about sensor format equivalencies. When you’re out in the field with your equipment none of that matters one iota.

All that really matters is what you are actually holding in your hands, and how you plan to adjust your technique to capture the image that you have in your mind. Achieving your desired depth-of-field… by following the four simple guidelines outlined in this article… may be the factor that makes or breaks your photograph.

It can be hard to know which way to go.

Achieving shallow depth-of-field can be an important consideration for many photographers when determining which camera system to purchase. Unfortunately shallow depth-of-field is often overhyped by full frame fans. This can result in folks buying gear based on an erroneous assumption that shallow depth-of-field cannot be achieved with smaller sensor cameras.

As long as you learn to adjust your technique to the camera gear that you’re holding in your hands… shallow depth-of-field is absolutely attainable.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera equipment  noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,447 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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