Page 58 - NyghtVision Boot Camp One Fill Edition
P. 58
depth of field is shallow, the farther away from an
Like depth of field, the circle of confusion varies object you stand, the larger the circle of confusion
with the design of each lens. Moreover, it also va- will be.
ries according to the distance the photographer
is from the subject. Sounds complex... What does We will look more closely at the Circle of Confu-
this mean and how can we use it to our advantage? sion in the last section of this book.
It isn’t as complext as it sounds. Be careful - if you stand too far back and your F-
The size of the circle of confusion reflects the de- stop is too low, you will end up with a very na-
sign of the lens as much as depth of field does. In rrow band of the image that is in focus and depth
fact, each lens has a minimum focusing distance - of field. Such images - however dramatic - are ge-
that is how close you can bring a lens to an object nerally not received well because they tend to be
and still be able to have the lens focus. If you are disturbing or unsettling to the human eye.
unsure as to what the minimum focusing distance So, why is this so important? Because knowing
is for one of your lenses, just check the lens. It is how and when to use the circle of confusion can do
usually recorded on the ring of the lens or on the several things: It can increase the camera’s sense
barrel of the lens near the point where it attaches of space and even more importantly, it can increa-
to the camera body. se the viewer’s emotional experience.
Using the circle of confusion for landscape photo-
Rule Two: As you approach the minimum focusing graphy might not make much sense, however for
distance of a lens, depth of field decreases and the portraits or other close-ups, knowing how to use
circle of confusion increases. the circle of confusion can produce incredibly dra-
matic images.
Rule Three: The opposite is also true - if your
58 Boot Camp, Part 1
