Shallow Depth of field

[Kryg]

Hello I’m having trouble shooting a photo with a shallow depth of field and cannot figure out what I’m doing wrong. I using a Nikon D80 with a Tamron AF 18mm to 200mm lens 1:3.5-6.3. I have tried shooting with AF on and I’ve tried manual focus, F5.6, 1/200 and ISO of 200.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2979097390_ab47c5eafb_b.jpg

 

[tsaraleksi]

What sort of problem are you having with the depth of field? Is there to much or to little?

 

[Kryg]

I'm getting too much background.

 

[tsaraleksi]

What focal length were you at? How far away were you from the subject? At f/5.6 you're going to be getting a fair amount of depth unless you are pretty close up on the subject, at maximum zoom.

 

[djacobox372]

The lens you listed is too slow to achieve a really narrow DOF. Narrow DOF is a combination of a wide aperture and a long focal length. A very long focal length with a very wide aperture (small number) will create the narrowest DOF, whereas a very short focal length with a very small aperture (large number) will create the widest DOF.

You're best bet would be to zoom all the way to 200mm, but at f6.3 you will still have a fairly wide DOF.

 

[confused_in_the_darkroom]

I work with slower lenses too and I know your DOF dilemna. What I do if I don't want too much background is, rather than focus directly on the object that is my subject, focus slightly in front of me, putting the subject on the edge of the DOF and having your backround out of your DOF. This will increase your foreground though which can be equally annoying.

Evan

 

[JerryPH]

Do a search... I recently posted a detailed explanation about DOF. I don't really feel like retyping it.

 

[Dao]

Well .. try this and see if that works for you.

Shoot with Aperture Priority.
Set the Aperture at F/5.6
Focal length ... about 100mm
Have the subject about 10 feet from you.

The background, make sure it is at least 20-30 feet away from the subject. The further the better.

The Total depth of field is about 0.67 feet. So make sure you focus correctly.