Diane’s photograph above is an example of short depth of field. The two people who are nearest to the camera are in full view. They are the most detailed subjects in the picture. The scene behind them is completely blurred out. The artist’s choice to use short depth of field allows for the main focus of the photo to be on only the two girls. The busy background is now less detracting.
Dicko’s Photograph above is an example of long depth of field. The object closest to the camera, the tea kettle, is the main subject of the photo. The tea kettle is in full detail. The background beyond the tea kettle is also in full detail. The artist’s choice to use long depth of field helped tie the picture’s solid color theme together. The background beyond the main subject helps add to to story of the picture so it was important to keep the details.
These are solid examples of the concepts of depth of field and why a photography would select short or long.