When I’m teaching new photographers, one of the things which seems to excite people most is the move from Auto to Aperture-Priority function, allowing the photographer to control the depth of field in their image. In basic principle, it is such a simple thing to learn, and yet it has the ability to alter and enhance an image radically. I say it’s basic “in principle” advisedly…learning how best to use it in practice can be a little more demanding, but still a lot of fun.
There are all sorts of ways in which controlling depth of field can help to bring out the impact in an image. In today’s picture, I wanted to bring out the richly textured surface in the bricks, while still maintaining a view of the wall as a whole. By using a shallow depth of field, I’ve kept the focus on a narrow band of textured brickwork, allowing the rest of the wall to fade off into soft focus on either side.
Textured surface
