More fun with Depth of Field - Testing the AF-S Nikkor 85mm f1.4 prime lens

The latest addition to my camera bag is an AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G prime lens.  This lens is incredibly sharp and gives you a ton of control over the depth of field.

The shot shown below was taken at 1/4000 of a second at f/1.4 with the ISO set to LO1 on a Nikon D300. 

If you look closely, you’ll notice that her hair and neck is already out of focus leaving only share focus on the face.  Lenses like this make it easy to draw your focus where you want it.

Of course, as much fun as it is to play with a prime lens, sometimes there’s still no substitute for a zoom lens when it comes to flexibility in composing an image.  At f/2.8 you still get pretty shallow depth of field, with the added freedom of rapid variation in composition.

Here are a couple photos shot in rapid succession with a Nikkor 17-55 mm f/2.8 lens:

First a close-up at 52mm, then seconds later a wide shot with a bit more perspective at 30mm:

The more I shoot outdoors the more I like it.  The ruggedness of the rocks in the background makes it that much easier to draw your attention to the model.

This last shot, also with the 17-55mm was shot at 35mm, f/2.8.  Sunlight provided a natural hair light with a large circular reflector filling in the shadows from the front.