What is depth of field?

In reality there is only a single point that a lens can hold in sharp focus but objects from the distance to the foreground can appear practically sharp. Depth of field refers to the distance from the furthermost object in a subject being photographed to the closest object that appears to be in sharp focus. Depth of field can be controlled and deliberately used to photograph a subject where everything from items in the foreground to items on the distance appear to have an equal sharpness. In some situations it can also be used to confuse spatial planes by placing them all in sharp focus.

On the other hand with limited depth of field a single object can be separated from the background. The object may be in sharp focus while the foreground and background may be out of focus and less recognizable. In this way it can be used to define planes that various object in the image sit on.

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