DOF

by nadiphotography

Depth of field.

For starters;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

This photo caused a little storm of comments and positive feedback. Appreciated!

Well actually not that photo. Thats the original.

Shot B&W, I wanted to capture Elisa’s original looks and especially her beautiful eyes.

In this image you can see the importance a professional make up artist that is a must for this kind of photography.

Oona Kauste did again an amazing job on this young model.  http://oonakauste.fi/

Setup

I had the most basic setup ever. Check the diagram below.

I had a 65×65 soft box on a 45 degree angle down on to the model. I used only the modeling light. Some daylight also flooded in from the window camera left.

Then I rigged a fan to a light stand with a clamp and taped a dark grey paper to a wall as a back drop. Anyone can do this.

And if you shoot black and white you dont need to worry about white balance for example. But since I ended up using this photo as a color the were some issues with white balance after all. But then again, if you shoot RAW, like I usually do, you can shoot with auto white balance setting on and take care of things as you edit the photo later.

Camera settings

Nikon D90

Lens; Samyang 85mm f/1.4

1/125, f/1.4,  ISO 200

One thing about the Samyang 85mm lense. Its a very good lens. Only thing lacking is the auto focus, which would cost a 1000€ extra.  So I focus manually

It does take a little practice and I usually need to use the Live view on the back of the camera. And a tripod. But its well worth the trouble.

So.

I shot 20 some frames of this subject and ended up retouching this particular photo.

I chose to crop the image quite heavily. Since the focus was the eyes in the first place. It’s a good example on how to maintain the objective of what your trying to achieve or what your trying to tell with the photo.

The eyes. Thats it.