30 Jun
Photo Term Series #17: Hyperfocal Distance
Posted in Alaska, Arctic Refuge, Landscape, Locations, Photography, Terminology by JimOne of the most essential pieces of knowledge to understand in order to attain sharp images, particularly for landscapes, is the principle of hyperfocal distance.
Phil Davis put it best in Photography, 1972
“When the lens is focused on the hyperfocal distance, the depth of field extends from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.”
The general tip to burn into your memory is focus 1/3 of the way into your photo with a smaller aperture setting to maximize your depth of field.
image courtesy of DOFMaster
A great online resources to reference when researching hyperfocal distance for your gear is DOFMaster’s Depth of Field Calculator. In addition Vividlight Photography also has a great article on this subject What is Hyperfocal Distance and Why Should I Care? were they provide an Excel or PDF Hyperfocal Distance Chart that can be put in your camera bag.
View more photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
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the_wolf_brigade
on June 30 2008
I think I have been doing this subconsciously already, but up until now I’ve been working on the theory that the DoF equals to twice as much in the background as exists in the foreground - I guess this is more applicable in wider apertures and less critical for landscapes though.
Jim Goldstein
on June 30 2008
@the_wolf_brigade. Your logic is correct for smaller apertures, but to keep you on track this is particularly relevant to landscape photography. Thanks for the comment
Phil
on June 30 2008
Thanks for this simple reminder of an important fundamental!
the_wolf_brigade
on June 30 2008
I thought as much. Definitely going to try this out as soon as I can to see if I can improve the sharpness in my shots.
photographyVoter.com
on July 5 2008
Photo Term: Hyperfocal Distance…
Jim defines the term “Hyperfocal Distance” for us in this quick and educational series for photography speak….
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