justinsain

No tripod is needed. I have a really nice Bogen tripod that I use for video but rarely use it for pictures. I like to travel light and I'm guessing you're the same way.

Depth of field is about how much of your picture is in focus and you control that by the size of the opening of your aperture. For these pictures here I'm using a Canon 70-200 2.8 non IS. I shoot with the aperture set at 2.8 a lot because I really like the look of the pictures.

The idea is to make your subject stand out from a distracting background and not get lost in it. The speed of your subject doesn't matter as long as you have a suitable shutter speed to capture the action. Normally a wide open aperture will allow a fast shutter speed anyways.

It's just a simple technique that will add to your pictures. The best part is it's all digital and you can shoot at will and just delete the ones you don't want. I had to experiment with film and that cost always put a dent in my lifestyle

Here are a few examples of a shallow depth of field.

I took this shot of the model on my friends dock. By using a shallow depth of field ( DOF ) I put the branches behind her out of focus making them far less distracting and it really draws you to her. By adding the railing into the picture it gives perspective and like a trail it leads your eye to the main subject.



I shot this out in the sawgrass of the Everglades and the grass behind her would be very distracting if it
were in sharp focus but by using a shallow DOF she now pops from the background.


This shot of my dog I chose to throw the background out of focus to feature him which makes a nice shot but you could leave everything
in focus to show the location. it's just a matter of choice and would make two very distinct images


This shot is an example of almost too shallow of DOF because my dog's face is in focus but farther back his tail falls just out of focus.
It's not a deal breaker for the shot but something you need to keep in mind when choosing your DOF and composition.