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In a previous post(linked at the end of this article) I laid out the four factors that affect the amount of Depth of field, the area in a photograph that is reasonably in focus, an image will have. In this post I'm going to explain the three stories that can be told by manipulating Depth of field.
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Story #1: This thing(or person)

This is the story you tell when you want to introduce the viewer of an image to something and exclude all distraction. The most common image telling this kind of story is the classic portrait. To do this you want a narrow depth of field with a completely blurred background. Selecting a featureless back ground like a mono-colored wall can assist in the elimination of distractions. Do not dismiss backgrounds with pleasing colors, such as a field of flowers, or lots of pinpoint lights. These kind of backgrounds can make the image spectacular if you can get them well blurred. 

We can use the factors explained in my last post(linked at the end of this article) to tell this story. The larger the sensor the easier it will be to get isolation. Longer focal lengths will also help as will lower f~Stop number, f/1 to f/4 depending on your sensor size. The closer you can get to your subject, and the further the background is behind them, the easier creating this image will be as well. 
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![Dew on White Flower.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUGPgfsexbvE56xVJxND4Y6AZmgVyKp2VqfMs2q49SXYE/Dew%20on%20White%20Flower.jpg)
Isolating the subject and bluring out the background tells the story of this thing. 
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![Tufted Titmouse.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVBb4G9DVtrHbmqTdDJVdxhRZ2dZJFrHwVWfbno174pjg/Tufted%20Titmouse.jpg)
Colorful background with pinpoint highlights can make for spectacular "This thing" images if you can get them blurred enough
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Story #2: This thing(or person) in This Place

This is the story you want to tell when you want your viewer to know there is a central subject but you also want to provide them context to the setting your subject is in. Street photography is an example of this story. To do this you want to use enough depth of field so that your subject is nice and sharp while the background is slightly blurred but still recognizable.

Moderate f~stops, f/4 to about f/9 depending on the size of your sensor, will help with creating this kind of image. Moderate focal lengths(35-60mm on full frame, 24-40mm on aps-c, and 16-30mm on m4/3rds) will make telling this story easier. Distance to your subject can help give you flexibility if one of the other factors(i.e. Light is low so you need to use a lower f~stop) is less than ideal. 
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![Plover at Waters edge.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUfYDdzUQY3GaiTerGWMW48nxC2KWBiGVBjgjhPanvuUk/Plover%20at%20Waters%20edge.jpg)
Moderate depth of field is how you tell the story of a central subject with context of it's surroundings 
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Story #3: This place

This is the story you want your viewers to see when you want to present a location without putting an emphasis on anything specific. Landscapes are the most typical expression of this story. To do this you want as much of the photograph in focus as possible. In other words, a large amount of Depth of Field.

Using the widest lens possible will make it easy to get the maximum amount of detail in focus. Big f~stop numbers with their correspondingly small aperture openings will also increase the depth of field. You need to make sure you know when diffraction becomes a problem with your lens though so that it doesn't reduce the sharpness of your image and defeat the effect you are going for. More distance from subject will also increase Depth of field but like diffraction it can work against you. Get to far away and the photograph can get boring so it's often better to be closer and use a wider lens. 
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![Odelle Lake.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNtqFarYk1hAeVzy7qGfwDHbnEj4o4JUPqKqAuqQi1SHC/Odelle%20Lake.jpg)
The story of "This place" is accomplished best when using lots of depth of field
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Conclusion

Depth of field can help you tell three of the most powerful stories in photography – this thing, this thing in this place, or this place. If you take the time to think about which of these stories you want an image to tell, then make setting and equipment choices to match, your photographs will improve. Below is the link to the post where I go into more detail about the four factors that affect depth of field.

Understanding Depth of Field: The factors that affect DoF
https://steemit.com/photography/@randystiefer/understanding-depth-of-field-the-factors-that-affect-dof
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![U5drB7pLCQz1fp2R5bgzDPsHGVyomvo.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY51imq4fuAUAtgT7hxPhpWQV193EmWgSVw9YbMXV5Dxu/U5drB7pLCQz1fp2R5bgzDPsHGVyomvo.gif)
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