Depth of Field Control

Recently I was asked to critique some dull, lifeless shots. They were OOF (out of focus) as well. The poster shot wide open at 2.8 and underexposed. I explained to get the contrast and wow factor going you have to expose to the right a bit or overexpose 1/2 stop, then pull it back in post processing.

My suggestions to stop down a bit and expose a bit more worked. I added this to the discussion:  "You're getting the idea that bokeh and noise are the harbingers of death to many a photograph. People want razor thin DOF, zero noise and are sacrificing great shots every day crossing the lines. Photography is a lifelong obsession/fight with compromises. You trade bokeh for DOF control, you trade noise for killing motion blur, you trade x for y, y for x. Canon's strong point is the noise area where you have to trade less. That for me is why I am a Canon shooter. Push the limits of sharpness, contrast, dullness, dof – but be mindful that you will lose technically perfect shots if you compromise too much. I am VERY guilty of doing this when I get a new fast lens. I shoot wide open and go on a bokeh binge. Then I get home, upload and %75 of my subject is out of focus because I risked DOF control. Unsellable or unusable shots. I keep them for memories etc. or two show others I borked them. Learn to balance your compromises in your favour and not lose shots. You'll be doing this until they close the casket. "  

The hardest part for me in shooting is this balancing act. It's where good or great shots are made.