The area in front of and in back of the point of focus that appears sharp to our eyes is the image’s depth of fi eld. Stopping down the lens will increase this area of apparent sharp focus while opening up the lens will diminish it. The closer you are to your subject, and with an opened aperture, the less depth of fi eld. This is useful to isolate a subject against an otherwise cluttered or distracting background.

In my opinion, Canon made a quantum leap for photography, both mechanically but more importantly, philosophically, producing the best, most intuitive, and easiest to use equipment ever. That said, no digital equipment is “easy.” Yes, you can make a nice image (pretty much right out of the box, but also right down the middle of the road) in Full Auto or Program, but what’s the point if you don’t understand the subtleties? If you haven’t done so already, you’re about to make a major fi nancial investment in your photographic future. Canon’s gear is the best this planet has ever seen – that’s my opinion, but it’s the opinion of a professional who makes his living from photography, and also someone who’s made a substantial investment in his equipment. I want, and need, the very best, and I demand a lot from it.

One nice benefi t of a project like this is that I got to work with some extremely nice people who were willing to put up with me checking my notes and making abrupt changes in the middle of the shoot or making numerous wardrobe changes to accommodate the shoot schedule. The list is long, but each should know that their contribution was worth every minute of their time. |