Enhancing realism in a rendering is something a lot of KeyShot users strive for and one of the best ways to do so is by using Depth of Field. Depth of Field (DOF) is a really important aspect of photography and, therefore, is really important in your renderings.
Applying Depth of Field in KeyShot
Depth of Field is the effect you see between items in focus and items out of focus. Sometimes the item in the foreground is in focus and sometimes the item in the background is in focus. You’ll see it used in photographs and in movies, to focus your attention in one area of an image or animation. Sometime it can be very subtle and sometime it can be quite extreme. So, let’s learn how to capture that in KeyShot.
1. Turn on Depth of Field
Depth of field is found in the Camera tab of your Project window. It works best to set up your camera first then turn on Depth of Field. Click the Depth of Field checkbox at the very bottom.
2. Set Your Focus Distance
Think of Depth of Field as showing how much and what part of the scene is in focus. To apply Depth of Field, first select the crosshair icon to set your focal point in the Real-time View.
3. Adjust the F-stop
Adjusting the F-stop adds softness to your scene outside of the focal point. Without Depth of Field turned on, you can feel that it’s missing something. With the default F-stop of 1, the image has a very shallow Depth of Field. With an F-stop of 30, however, you get a wide Depth of Field, but the focus can become lost at this level. Somewhere between 1 and 10 is a good starting point but also depends on your needs or preference.
When you adjust the Focus Distance and F-stop, it helps to open the Geometry View. Here, you get a better visual representation of where exactly the focus and softness will occur. Remember, if you adjust your camera, the focus point will change. To prevent this, just lock your camera when you have those Depth of Field settings nailed down.
Using Depth of Field can quickly and easily take a regular scene and turn it into an eye catching image. It might be one of the easiest things to take advantage of in KeyShot when trying to enhance photorealism. So, when you’re looking to take that image to the next level, don’t forget to try Depth of Field. You can learn more about in the KeyShot manual.
What Can You Create?
We would love to see what you create with this tip. Visit the KeyShot Amazing Shots forum to see what others are creating and share your own work. And if you have a suggestion for another tip share it in the comments below.
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