Selective Depth of Field

When focusing a camera, the "depth of field"(DOF) is the zone of acceptably sharp focus in front of and behind the main subject of the photograph. DOF control has a profound effect on the appearance of the image. In simple terms, a great DOF is desirable when photographing big landscapes where everything from near to far appears to be in sharp focus. A shallow DOF usually results in blurry foregrounds and backgrounds allowing the photographer to draw the viewer's attention to the main sujbect. This is often referred to as "selective depth of field".