Depth of field (DOF) is one of the most powerful creative concepts for all photographers because it helps accentuate the key subject of an image, control the background and foreground, and guide the viewers eyes through the frame. This tutorial from the Hamed Photography YouTube channel explains everything you need to understand in barely six minutes.

Hamed describes the essential term like this: “Depth of field refers to the area within a photo that appears acceptably sharp. Everything in front of or behind that zone becomes increasingly out of focus—creating photos with a soft, dreamy look or sharp, detailed images from front to back.”

According to Hamed, DOF is also a key element in visual storytelling. A shallow DOF, for example, is commonly employed by portrait photographers to isolate a subject from the background, and it can add a professional touch for more artistic images.

A deep DOF, on the other hand, is preferred for landscape photography and other genres where the goal is to maximize sharpness throughout the frame from foreground elements to those in the distance. Hamed also demonstrates how DOF can contribute to the “aesthetic style” of your imagery by enhancing mood and depth to a flat image by creating a sense of three-dimensional space.

Hamed notes that there are three key factors that affect DOF; namely. the focal length of your lens, the aperture you choose, and camera-to-subject-distance. He says that the interplay between this trio of variables will enable you to “shape your shots” with precision.

In basic terms here’s how it works: A wider aperture like f/1.8 or F/2.8 creates shallow DOF, blurring either the background or foreground of a scene (or both), while keeping the main subject detailed and sharp. Conversely, a narrow aperture like f/8 or f/11 keeps more of the image in focus.

Likewise, long focal lengths provide a shallow DOF, especially at wide apertures, while wider lenses inherently provide greater DOF. Then there’s the key consideration of camera-to-subject distance, where the closer you are to the subject, like with macro photography for example, the shallower the DOF.

Be sure to check out Hamed’s YouTube channel where he regularly posts how-to videos for photographers of all skill levels.

We also recommend watching the recent tutorial we posted in which a notable German pro lays out a comprehensive beginners guide to manual focus techniques for capturing sharp photographs in difficult light.

Today we’re taking a quick look at the new Enhance features in Lightroom Classic, specifically how to apply Denoise, Raw Details, and Super Resolution to photographs non-destructively. Here’s how Adobe expert Julienne Kost introduces the topic: “This technology update provides additional flexibility when editing and reduces the use of disk space as well as the number of files that need to be managed.”

There’s a link in the description beneath the video with additional important details on the AI-powered features described in the six-minute video. The ultimate goal of using Enhance is to increase image quality for making large prints or increasing the resolution of cropped images.

Here’s how to take advantage of Lightroom’s new capabilities without making a new DNG file: Select Camera Raw Preferences > Technology Previews > New AI Feature and Settings panel. Denoise easily removes artifacts from images captured at high-ISO setting or in low light, and now you can process several supported file types using AI to reduce noise without sacrificing fine details.

Kost explains that Raw Details (previously called Enhance Details) “produces crisp detail and more accurate renditions of edges, while improving color rendering and reducing artifacts.” It’s particularly handy for large displays and making big prints with maximum detail.

Then there’s Super Resolution which works similarly to Raw Details, but with two times the linear resolution. As Kost says, “this means that the enhanced file will have two times the width, two times the height, and four times the total pixel count of the original image.” This feature supports the same file types as Raw Details, with the addition of Jpeg and TIFF.

With all this nomenclature under your belt, Kost then walks you through the specifics of putting these new features to work with this important note: “You can only enhance an image once, which means that you cannot reapply Raw Details or Super Resolution to an already enhanced image.”

Once you’re done watching head over to Kost’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find a variety of how-to videos for processing photos with Lightroom and Photoshop.

We also suggest watching a tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing expert who demonstrates a quick no-nonsense Lightroom solution for rehabilitating underexposed photographs without introducing noise.

Wearing eyeglasses is an inconvenient reality for many of us who can’t navigate the world around us without them. They come with the inevitable cost of making photography more difficult, but this tutorial from Adorama TV provides several helpful solutions for easing your frustrations.

Instructor David Bergan is an eye-glass-wearing pro with 13 Sports Illustrated covers to his credit, along with widely published celebrity portraits and concert  photos. He’s also a popular educator with a unique website where followers post common photography questions and receive a thoughtful reply that benefits all of us.

Today’s question was posted recently by a fan: “As someone who wears glasses, do you recommend leaving them on and risk getting smudges from the viewfinder’s rubber cup? Or do you take them off and adjust the camera’s diopter to your eye?”

Bergman answers this query and provides other important details that will greatly simplify your life when holding a camera up to your eye. He introduces the pandora’s  box like this: “Glasses are incredibly helpful for those of us who don’t have perfect vision, but they do have some challenges when using a camera.”

He begins by reviewing some of the most common problems and explains how your camera’s diopter adjustment works. It’s important to remember that this little dial lets your fine-tune the sharpness of the viewfinder screen more clearly but it doesn’t actually affect your photos.

The conversation covers a wide range of other key considerations in barely 11 minutes, including the aforementioned smudging and fogging that prevents you from seeing clearly—especially when stray light hits the viewfinder screen. And there’s also the difficulty of getting a full-frame view.

Bergman also leverages his long-time experience to help you make a more informed decision when purchasing your next pair of eyeglasses with photography in mind. Are progressive lenses the best choice, or should you consider buying contact lenses instead? And is laser eye surgery a valid option for those of you who’d like get rid of eyeglasses altogether?

There’s much more great content to be found on the Adorama TV YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look. And check out the Ask David Bergman website where you can view his insightful answers to other photo-related questions and even ask a few of your own.