Chapter 3

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Understanding Depth of Field

Macro photography is subject to a shallow depth of field (DOF), meaning that the camera's ability to focus from foreground to background is limited. And when using the macro lens, you can zoom at close range. The more you zoom, the more shallow the DOF, so let's understand what DOF is, and how to use it to our photographic advantage

In this photo, the ruler is parallel to the camera so there is no foreground and background. The ruler is flat and the camera can obtain a good focus across the entire ruler.

In this photo, the ruler is at a 45 degree angle to the camera. It now has depth from front to back and since macro photography is subject to a shallow DOF, the middle ground is in focus but both the foreground and background drift out of focus.

So, knowing that macro photography is subject to a shallow depth of field, if you wish to have your entire subject in focus, then have the camera parallel to your subject.

But if you wish to highlight one part of your subject with sharp focus and permit other parts to drift into blurry bokeh, then have your subject at an angle to the camera.

How Camera Parallelism Effects Macro Focus

In this photo, you can see that the moth's head (A) is much closer to the camera than his wings (B), so if you have your camera parallel to the overall scene, you can not get the entire insect in focus. If you set focus to his head, then his wings will be out of focus. If you set focus to his wings, then his head will be out of focus.

 To correct, draw an imaginary line in your mind, connecting A and B in a straight line.

Position the camera parallel with the imaginary line and take the shot for good focus.

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