How To Get Shallow Depth Of Field

Shooting with wide apertures can seem difficult at times, especially with moving children.

I regularly shoot with apertures f/1.6 and lower, but I didn't always shoot that way. I used to shoot around f/ 2.2 – f/4.0.

I actually started to shoot with the super wide apertures because I dropped my camera when I was out photographing my son Noah. Yep. I just bought a brand new camera, and when I dropped it, the aperture ring broke, and it was stuck on f/1.6.

Being the daredevil (or crazy?) person that I am, I was going to use my new camera at my photo session the next day, and not my old camera. No way. No how. Well, I lucked out, and had a great session, and I realized how much I loved very shallow depth of field.

There were quite a few things I learned through out the years that helped me nail focus when photographing kids and families with wide apertures and hopefully these will help some of you!

1. "Anchor" yourself if possible.

If I can lean on walls, a tree, a car, or sit on the ground (and shoot up)…I do it.

Also, try to keep those elbows close to your side. The more your wiggle those elbows around, the more you risk camera shake. I like to anchor myself against walls a lot because it helps keep me still.

2. Toggle your focal points.

Single point autofocus (AF) shooting is a great way to ensure sharp images, and I find it is GOLDEN to me when using very wide apertures. By using this method, you're able to hone in on the area you want to focus on, which can give you sharper images.

Regardless if you use back button focusing, or you use your shutter to lock focus (this is what I use), the single point focus is a method I can't live without.

3. Watch your distance from your subject(s).

I really utilize this when I am photographing groups with f/1.6. I try to make sure I am not too close as that will cause the depth of field to be too shallow, and a greater chance of blurry images.

Instead, I make sure I am a good distance away (perhaps 10ft?) when photographing groups. A telephoto prime lens works best in this situation. My lens of choice is an 85mm 1.4.

Practice a bit with this to find your "sweet spot". You definitely don't want to be too far away!

4. Keep the group on the same plane and have them touching in some way.

This works well with siblings and families. I like to have them touching in some way. Either the shoulders, hands, heads, cheeks… something!

When I am choosing what to focus on, I pick an area where two people are touching. (the red dot represents the focal point)

5. With close ups, focus on an eye, but with far away shots, don't stress yourself.

I'm a firm believer that stressing over the technical during a photo shoot will cause a photographer to make mistakes. With full body shots of single individuals, I prefer to focus on the eye area (any place on the face).

Audrey Woulard is a portrait photographer based out of Chicago, IL. She specializes in photographing tweens and teens. She is an internationally recognized photographer and is regularly sponsored to speak for brands such as Profoto, and Nikon. She teaches hands on personal workshops within the US, and abroad in Europe, and Australia.