Depth of Field and Angle of View

A few months ago I wrote an article about depth of field and how I approach what f/stop to use for a given situation. However, this isn't the end of the story. Sometimes I have ISO limitations, shutter speed limitations or shooting position limitations. Shooting position limitations? You bet. I think of my safari vehicle as a huge tripod with four wheels. I am never perfectly happy with any shooting position, so I find myself needing to move the vehicle forward or backward to tweak my composition.

However, sometimes I cannot move backward or forward. I might have trees in the way or other safari vehicles. To improve my shooting position, I also consider the difference between shooting from the window or from the pop-top roof in the Land Rover. I do prefer to be at eye level with my subjects, so I often move to the window position. The difference in 3 feet of height can be quite significant. Here are a few benefits:

Background becomes more out of focus, as distance from subject to background is greater. Think about it. If you shoot from a steep angle down at a subject that is lying on the ground, like the image below, you will have the grass on the ground much closer to the lens. If you shoot from a lower position, you are now shooting with the background much farther away. So you end up with a smoother, softer background.

The connection between you and your subject is much more intimate.

Examples:

Shot taken from the top of a Land Rover

400mm f/4 @ f/5.6

Shot taken from the window of a Land Rover
400mm f/4 @ f/5.6
Notice the much softer, smoother background.

Comments

[Giedo]

IP: 81.207.19.114EMAIL: gvanderzwan@wenvh.nlURL: http://www.colourfull.euHi Andy,

I completely agree with your observations on this point. For me though it is much more than the blurred background... being on eye level or even lower (I sometimes open the door of the Toyota land cruiser - which is I believe slightly higher than a landrover) and crawl on the floor to get a low viewpoint) creates an image that shows more of the natural surroundings; trees, kopjes or even the sky with clouds.Images from the top of a safari vehicle can turn out a bit boring with all that grass in the background.

I can't post an example from what I mean or can I?

best regards, Giedo

[Andy Biggs]

IP: 76.31.35.156EMAIL: andybiggs@gmail.comURL: http://www.andybiggs.comGood thoughts, Giedo. If you send along a jpg file to my email address, perhaps we can add your image(s) to illustrate.

[Kari Post]

IP: 72.73.225.118EMAIL: kari@karipost.comURL:Great tip, Andy, and the example images illustrate your point beautifully. While my sedan isn't great for off roading by any means, I'm often glad I have the lower profile when on paved or gravel drives at wildlife refuges because I prefer the lower shooting angle as well.

[hkruse]

IP: 87.60.8.111EMAIL: hans@hanskruse.comURL: http://www.hanskruse.comCompletely agree. Here is one from a late afternoon in Kgalagadi http://www.pbase.com/hkruse/image/72260211/original. In this case the terrain was a bit higher than the road so we were at eye level with the lion.

[Rich]

IP: 69.228.95.105EMAIL: rwjohnson11@gmail.comURL:Good info, the original article is great and very useful, especially in deciding on what lenses to eventually purchase. Thanks!