wife-to-be make her way down the aisle. The
shallow depth of field created by using the f/2.8
makes the groom really pop out of the photo.
Knowing that a wide aperture would cause a
shallow depth of field, Kenny made sure that the
subject of the photo was in focus. Because he was
already using as slow a shutter speed as possible
and a very high 2500 ISO, he used that shallow
depth of field to his advantage.
The other exposure adjustment you can make is
to raise the ISO so that the signal captured by the
sensor is amplified, allowing captures in lower
light. This means that you can increase the ISO
until the chosen shutter speed and the maximumapertures, the depth of field is very shallow. You
have to be aware of this as it won’t look that way
through your viewfinder, but subjects that are not
on the same focal plane will not be in focus.
What this means in practical terms for you is that
if you are shooting from an angle at the bride and
groom, then you need to be sure that you are
focusing on the subject of your photo. The rest of
the image will fall out of focus, depending on the
distance of the camera from the subject and the
distance of the rest of the scene from the subject.
You can use this effect creatively, as shown in
Figure 5-4 where wedding photographer Kenny
Kim kept the focus on the groom watching his
ABOUT THIS PHOTO For this photograph, the shallow depth of field works well in making the viewer’s eye go directly to the groom. Taken
at 1/80 second, f/2.8, and ISO 2500. © Kenny Kim
5-4