Shallow depth of field is a film look – or is it?​

I am questioning the idea that shallow depth of field (DOF) is inherently part of the “film look” in photography.

It’s a nuanced topic, and my observation is that many great films don’t rely heavily on shallow DOF, which is to be taken into account.

I know the narrow DOF is beautiful in many cases, and I have heavily relied on that for many years. I have my doubts, though, if it is right to acclaim it’s a cinematic look.

I also, because I always look at a subject from different perspectives, am beginning to see another perspective, which I will dig into.

Before I dig into this, I will make a disclaimer. You will not get a “this is right, this is wrong” ending of the story. I will not start only shooting one or the other way from now on.

I want to expand the knowledge and understanding, and broaden the vision of photography. I always say, “This is what you could do, not what you should do.” Some of it fits one situation, and another is better in a different case.
You will also not have any examples due to copyrights, which I highly respect. Simply Google the examples mentioned further down or use the links inserted.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE in the SNAPSHOT ROOM

The picture below is from Helsinki, and done last week with the Leica M9 and Summilux 50 mm set on f 4.