A Mode – What’s in Focus

I use A (aperture priority) mode when I want to control what’s in focus from front to back (depth of field).  In the photo above you can see that the first cookie is out of focus, the middle 6 cookies are in focus, and the back 5 cookies are out of focus again. My choice of aperture setting could make the photo have from 1 to all of the cookies in focus.

I mostly use A mode for subjects that are stationary and the closer I am to the subject the more likely I am to use A mode instead of P mode. It is my go to mode for close up food photography. The subject is stationary so I have plenty of time to fiddle with the settings on my camera.

Depth of focus can be used as a compositional tool. When you first looked at this photo did you notice that your eye is drawn to the part of the photo that is in focus? The depth of focus can be used to minimize busy background also.