I made a picture from a similar place at the Lantern bar, which I posted several days ago. The mood and the subject, however, are very different. While the original picture documented the entire sitting area and the surrounding architecture, this picture concentrates on the details.

I used the same camera and lens for both photographs, but with a dramatically different effect. Sure, the framing has changed, but more significantly, the depth of field has dramatically decreased.

There are three ways to change the depth of field in a photograph: the aperture of the lens, the focal length, and the distance to the subject. In this case, the focal length remains the same. I used a 24mm f2.8 prime lens. I decreased the aperture from f4 to f2.8, which reduced the depth of field. In addition, and more significantly, I’m shooting a lot closer to the subject, which blurs out the background.

The resulting image emphasizes the flower, the vase, and other details on the table, and the background melts away.

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