Did you ever take a photo of something that has dimension to it (like a cut crystal bowl or a lovely bracelet) only to find the outcome is rather fuzzy – especially towards the back of the object?

Look at these two pictures of a bracelet. One has a somewhat fuzzy front and back. The other is very in focus on both the front and back details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The issue here is Depth of Field. Put simply depth of field refers to how different parts of a picture are (or are not) in focus. For example we’ve all taken pictures of family members where the person is in focus but everything behind them tends to be blurry.

When you’re taking pictures of antiques and collectibles you will want to have everything in focus so potential buyers can clearly see what they are buying. When things in a picture look fuzzy or blurry it can put doubt into a buyers mind as to whether or not there is a flaw in the item that cannot be seen.

If you want everything in perfect focus how to you do that? You do that through setting your camera’s Aperture.

Aperture is the hole in the lens that controls how much or little light enters through the lens. Think of it as your cameras “eye”. Just like your own eyes you can squint (and less light will enter your eyes) or you can open them really wide (and let a lot of light in).

On my Nikon I first set my camera to shoot in Aperture Mode. Then I control how big or small that hole is via the camera’s F-Stops. F-stops are numerical settings. Depending on your camera you may have f-stops numbers such as F/1, F/1.2, F/2, F/2.8, F/4, F/5.6, F/8, etc.

 Here’s the thing to remember about F-stops. The smaller the number the larger the aperture hole.

 (I know…I know…it’s a little bit confusing…you would think the smaller the number the smaller the aperture hole but it’s the opposite) The following charts will help you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

The lower the F-stop number the more light that enters the camera (this is like opening your eyes really wide). The more light that enters the camera the more shallow the depth of field. So, for example, if you were taking a picture of a crystal bowl the front of the bowl would be in focus but the back of the bowl would be fuzzy.

The higher the F-stop number the less light that enters the camera (this is like squinting your eyes – which we’ve all done to really focus in on something). The less light that enters the camera the more focused the depth of field becomes. If you were taking a picture of a crystal bowl the front of the bowl would be in focus but the back of the bowl would be fuzzy.

If you have a point-and-shoot digital camera that has no f-stop controls you can still get sharper images by doing the following.

• If you’re looking for Shallow Depth of Field (ie your foreground and background blurry) shoot in Portrait mode as this will trigger your camera to choose a wider aperture.
  

• If you’re looking for a Wider Depth of Field (ie everything in focus) shoot in Landscape mode where the camera selects small apertures in this mode.

Try experimenting with your camera to get the best results for the antique or collectible you are photographing. A little work on this very important aspect of photography can yield better photos which, in turn, can result in better sales. Good luck!

Carol Scheer
A Return To Splendor

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/areturntosplendor