This week’s post for beginner photographers is inspired by the popular 52 Assignments photography book about depth of field aka ‘the shallow end’ with shallow depth of field images that have soft focus backgrounds.
Let me explain a bit about it and why, for cat lovers, it’s perfect for capturing a special detail, a close-up, or a portrait with a touch of bokeh behind it. [Revised May 2023].
So, what is a shallow depth of field and what would you use it for?

What is shallow depth of field?
It means that only the cat (or other object) stands out in clear focus with most of the background that is further away is softly out of focus.
Did you know? You can tell an iPhone where to focus by tapping on the screen? If you want the foreground in focus, tap on something close to the camera. Want the background in focus? Tap a background subject.
Macworld
Shallow Depth of Field Tips

The F-stop in my photograph of kitten Tigger was not quite as low as it could have been but the background is nicely out of focus and many photographers recommend you start somewhere between f2 and f5.6.
The aperture contracts when you dial in a large f-number, such as f11 and the aperture expands when you dial in a small f-number, such as f2.8
Photo Workout
If you use a DSLR camera at the shallow end of the depth of field you will be setting your camera at or near f.2.8. 52 Assignments – Instagram recommends settings of Aperture Priority (A on a Nikon) and then asks you to open the aperture as wide as you can.
Reminder for F Numbers
As beginners we sometimes go cross-eyed remembering these details:
- f2.8 is a wide (photographers refer to this as ‘wide open’, like your eye)
- f22 is a narrow aperture.
If you check out the paperweight photo here you can see that I have used an F-stop of f1.8 which is as low as my nifty-fifty 50 mm lens can go. Look carefully at the photo. There is only a narrow strip that looks sharp. The F number was, in this example, too narrow and it is worth starting at f2.8 or f5.6 if you are unsure.
Smartphone Depth of Field Tips
With smartphones the amount of bokeh (background focus) you get depends on the following:
- The age of your smartphone.
- The apps you use e.g. Afterfocus (iOS/Android), Big Lens, iPad.
- Or, if you have the more recent ‘portrait mode’ on your smartphone. Portrait mode on a smartphone, or an app such as Snapseed creates an artificial depth of field that works well on Instagram photos.
TOP TIP: Mobile phone cameras can generate a shallow depth of field straight out of camera if the image being captured is extremely close to the lens. You will need to know how close you can hold your phone before it struggles to focus. To use this with confidence – practice focusing your smartphone.
Shallow End Instagram Filters and Tips
To add drama to an image boost your saturation and/or your contrast. This can be done before you add photos to Instagram, Threads or other social media and it helps to push your subject into the foreground.
An alternative is to use a black and white filter as I have done with Toulouse’s portrait.
This is a challenging area for smartphone users so exploring apps is a great idea.
Depth of Field can really make a photo pop. Love the monochrome image! Always great tips, Marjorie.
Great post and tips thanks so much
Thanks for this great post, I need to try and keep it straight w/ my digital camera in terms of which F stop to use. I just don’t use it enough to remember everything LOL! I love that photo of Toulouse! And you know, I kind of like the paperweight photo too, at first glance I assumed it was intentional – it’s pretty cool looking!
Ooohhh! You can do this on an iPad! Going to try it out with Henry. Super excited to give it a whirl. I absolutely love the photos of Jack, Tigger, and Toulouse. Great tips!
Beautiful kitties and I love the paperweight. XO
Love this, even tho I hardly ever use my real camera anymore. Can still achieve this fairly well with the I-Phone 13,
and of course, in photoshop can “select subject” and then blur the background. But it is always a better photo (not to mention challenging if you can accomplish the effect without using photoshop!! I need to take that advice about NOT using the sharpening tool, which I do way too often …
Those are all such nice photos, we never understood the F stop thing until now, thanks. Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.
Sometimes I can achieve those results and sometimes not…LOL! The other day when I was taking pics of our flowers…well, I trashed a bunch, and the best ones went into my blog.You saw them.
When I zoom in from ‘afar’. then I get grainier pics, but the background is more ‘bokeh. When I stand closer with the macro setting, well, who knows what will happen. If the green focus frame doesn’t come up, then the pic will not have good focus anywhere.
I can do better with the iPad, but its much harder to hold steady. I have not found anything what can hold it still when I have it in camera mode. There are plenty such things for phones…And of course the camera takes better pics, in general. I did not use the iPad at all for those flower pics.
We have tried a bit of this thanks so much for some more info
If I can help, just send me an email thecrew[a]dashkitten.com
Amazing tips and photos as always!
Beautiful kitty portraits! Those soft backgrounds are really nice.
Thanks for the great tips, Marjorie! I especially love the photos of Toulouse and Tigger!