AF (auto focus) is more typically used when taking photos as the camera will focus its self. MF (manual focus) is more effective when trying to get a specific light or focal point.
Aperture
the aperture setting controls the size of the lens opening that allows light into your camera. You can blur the foreground and background that bracket your subject (known as shallow depth of field) by opening up the aperture with a low f-stop number; alternatively, you can keep your photo sharp from the foreground through to the background (known as wide depth of field) by closing the aperture down with a high f-stop number.
Focal length
The focal length of a lens is the optical distance (mm) from the point where the light meets inside the lens to the camera’s sensor.
Depth of field
The photographer can change the settings on the camera in order to alter the amount of light entering the lens. This directly affects the depth of field of the subject being viewed
deep depth of field
medium depth of field
shallow depth of field
ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard was a visionary photographer known for his dreamlike black & white photographs of family members in masks, elegant portraits of bohemian friends and radical experiments in abstraction. As he had an interest in Zen Buddhism it guided his intuitive process for making photographs
Auto Focus- Will adjust the cameras lens to obtain a focus in the lens. For general use.
Manual Focus- Is the process of adjusting the depth of field of the camera lens to bring the image into focus without relying on the auto focus. Used for finer details.
Focal Length
Focal Length- Is the optical distance (measured in MM) from the centre of a lensand it’s focus. Point of convergence of your lens and the sensor or film recording the image.
Aperture
Aperture-Aperture is how wide the hole in the back of the lens is, and it controls how much light is let in. It is measured in f-stops and the lower the number, the more light is let in
Depth of Field-DOF is what’s in focus in front of or behind the main subject of the photo. Lower aperture (f2.8-f4) gives a shallow DOF (minimal focus) , higher aperture (f16-f22) gives a greater DOF (broader focus)
In picture 1 there is a shallow depth of field, which has an aperture of 8, a shutter speed of 1/60 for good exposure and an ISO setting of 1600.
In picture 2, there is a very small depth of field, which has an aperture of 2.8 which means the opening on the camera lens is big. The shutter speed is 1/60 for good exposure and so you can focus on the plane and the ISO setting is at 200.
In picture 3, there is a very wide depth of field, which has an aperture of 22 which means the lens has a tiny hole in it where no light can get through. The shutter speed is 1/1 for good exposure and the ISO setting is at 100.
Artist Research
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard made his living as an optician, born in 1925 and died in 1976. Meatyard was born in Normal, which is in Illinois. He was a member on the Lexington Camera club and pursued his passion for photography outside the mainstream. He experimented with many strategies such as multiple exposures, motion blur, and other methods of photographic abstraction. Two of his series included depth of field and focus.
Meatyard used a wide aperture which has a small F stop and this also has a small depth of field. which means his photos have a background with a soft focus and the foreground has a sharp focus.
Aperture is the amount of light that is allowed into the lens, this is measured in F/Stops. F/Stops is what allows how much light can get into your picture. For example at a 2.8mm F/Stop it allows lots of light in and has a small depth of field while at a 22mm F/Stop it allows a minimal amount of light through and has a large depth of field as the lens becomes a pinhole shape.
Focal Length
The focal length of your lens is the optical distance (measured in mm) from the centre of the lens and its focus. This is what determines what you are able to see when you use your camera.
As you can see in this picture the lower mm focal point is able to capture the wide area of your picture while a high mm focal point is able to capture things much further away which helps if your subject is far away.
Depth Of Field
Depth Of Field is what is in focus in your image, If you have a Deep Depth Of Focus means that everything in the image will be in focus at a low aperture while if you have a Shallow Depth Of Field it means that only one item will be in focus at a high aperture. If you would like to get a better focus you will need a high F/Stop and if you’d like a less focused image you will need to use a low F/Stop.
Taken at f/2.8
We can see in this picture taken at f/2.8 that the main focus is more on the centre of the image as it has a shallow depth of field
Taken at f/8
We can see in this picture taken at f/8 that the focus is starting to focus on more than one item, getting closer to a deep depth of field.
Taken at f/22
We can see in this picture taken at f/22 that the focus is mostly focusing on everything giving us a deep depth of field in the picture.
The Work of Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Ralph Eugene Meatyard (born in 1925 and died in 1976) worked as an optician for a living and pursued his passion for photography in the Lexington Camera Club. He was experimenting with many different strategies which included multiple exposures, motion blur and other various methods of photographic abstraction. Two of his series of photos are uniquely made using focus and depth of field, he used these features to make his images blurry to show the big potential of photography, film and cameras when looking at the world. His photos below:
As you can see the artist for one of his series of photos has used potentially a very low aperture to make his photos/subjects out of focused. And for his other series of photos he has used a higher aperture to have a sharp focus to show the large depth of field of his subject.
My Images
My images are inspired by Ralph Eugene Meatyard and I have tried to replicate both effects he has applied to his images.
What I like about these images is that it has the same style that Ralph Eugene Meatyard used and the images themselves have been taken and edited to try and replicate the effect of his work. What I can notice though is that some images contain too much in focus specifically in image two which I could definitely improve by finding a subject that contains less leaves or by using a much higher aperture. I also can notice that on the 2nd set of photos where the out of focus style was applied could also be better as in photo one it doesn’t seem as out of focused as the others compared to Ralph Eugene Meatyards. To improve this I could of made the photograph more out of focus by changing the manual focus dial to focus less on the subject.
The aperture is measured in f/stop which controls the amount of light that is let through the camera by changing the size of the lens. For example a low aperture, like f/2 would let a lot of light into the lens and give a shallow depth of field. Where as a high f/stop, like f/22 would let very little light into the camera and have a very deep depth of field.
What is Depth of Field ?
Depth of field, in its most basic definition, refers to the extent of an image that remains in focus. More technically, it can be described as the range within a photograph where objects are perceived as being “satisfactorily in focus” or exhibit a degree of “acceptable sharpness.” Depth of field can also be controlled by aperture.
Some of my photos:
Photo taken at f/2.8
At this aperture the subject (the plane) is completely in focus, whereas everything else is out of focus, this is good for portraits as it draws the views eye to the subject.
Photo taken at f/8
At this aperture the subject (the plane) is still completely in focus, however the background and foreground is mostly out of focus but not all of it which draws the views eye less to the plane and more so to other sections of the photo. This aperture provides a friendly depth of field, which helps photographers capture subjects with acceptable sharpness both closer to the camera and farther away.
Photo taken at f/22
At this aperture there isn’t a specific subject as the entire photo is in focus, this is good for wide shots of groups of people or large landscapes as it captures all the detail and doesn’t leave anything out.
Auto Vs Manual Focus
Autofocus is great for everyday photography, while manual focus is better for capturing close-ups and intricate details. However you have to use the focus ring at the end of the lens and make adjustments for each shot.
Focal Length
The focal length of a lens is the distance (typically measured in millimetres) from the centre of the lens to its focus point. This distance plays a key role in what you observe when taking pictures with a camera.
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Meatyard was born in Normal, Illinois, and grew up in the adjacent town of Bloomington. Upon reaching the age of 18 during World War II, he enlisted in the United States Navy; however, he did not see service abroad before the conclusion of the war. Following his military service, he enrolled at Williams College through the GI Bill, where he initially pursued pre-dentistry studies before ultimately training to become an optician.
Although Lexington was not a prominent hub for photography, Meatyard did not identify himself as a “Southern” or regional photographer. At the time of his passing, his work was gaining national recognition, being exhibited and collected by several esteemed museums and featured in various magazines. He showcased his work alongside notable photographers such as Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, Robert Frank, and Eikoh Hosoe. By the late 1970s, his photographs were primarily displayed in exhibitions focused on ‘southern’ art, but they have since garnered renewed interest. His most recognized photography often depicted dolls and masks, as well as family, friends, and neighbors captured in deserted buildings or typical suburban backyards.
Meatyard used a large aperture with a very small depth of field in all of his photos. The photo below is an example of this.
Meatyards “Zen Twigs” photo.
Saul Leiter
Leiter was primarily a painter who ventured into the world of colour photography, uncovering its unique potential. Starting in the 1940s, he built an impressive collection of work that delves into colour harmonies. He often played with unconventional framing techniques like shop signs, umbrellas, curtains, car doors, and foggy windows to craft abstract scenes of everyday urban life. He loved using long lenses, which allowed him to stay unnoticed while also compressing space, creating interesting juxtapositions of objects and people. Many of his photos feature negative space, with large blurred areas that draw attention to specific details or vibrant pops of colour.
Photo by Saul Leiter
My photos
Selection process
My best photos
I used aperture in these photos to show a shallow and deep depth of field.
Photo taken at f/2.4
This photo is inspired by Meatyard.
Photo taken at f/5.6
This photo is inspired by Leiter.
Photo taken at f/12
This photo is inspired by Leiter.
Experimentations
Using various tools in Photoshop I created an abstract version, this editing helped me to understand developing much better and how to properly edit a photo.
Overall thoughts and evaluation
Personally I think this photoshoot went really well and I really liked the outcome of my final photos. Furthermore I really like the abstract version of my clock photo, not only is it an interesting photo, but it gave me a much greater understanding of photoshop.
Aperture – Control the amount of blur or sharpness around your subject.
In this image there is a wide Depth of Field giving a smaller lens opening. This means that the area of focus will be wider.
Settings
Shutter speed: 1/3
Aperture: 22
ISO setting: 400
In this image there is a narrow depth of field which will isolate your subject from the background.
Settings
Shutter speed: 1/180
Aperture: 2.8
ISO setting: 400
In this image the depth of field is short or narrow. Notice how the subject is sharper than the background.
Settings
Shutter speed: 1/30
Aperture: 6.7
ISO setting: 400
Focal length is the distance measured in millimetres between the point of convergence of your lens and the sensor or film recording the image.
depth of field is how much of your image is in focus. A wide depth of field would have the whole shot clear in camera however a shallow depth of field would focus in on one point and blur the background.
controls the amount of light that enters through iris in the lens and is measured in f/stop , you can adjust this by changing said f/stops.
Depth of field is defined as what is in focus in front and behind the subject , shallow depth in field has limited things in focus often with a blurred background this requires f/stop of f/2 or f/4. Depth of field is defined by aperture the higher the number the more in focus an example of this would be f/16 or f/22.
Shutter speed: 1/180
Aperture: 2.8
ISO setting: 400
As seen here the high aperture is f/2.8 meaning the depth of field in lower keeping less in focus
