Going Deep with ND Filters

How Camera ND Filters Can Create Depth of Field in Tight Spaces
by Charlie Crose

Click upon the video below to see a live example

Recently, I was on a video shoot and the client asked if we could shoot interviews inside a doctor’s office. Sounds easy, right? Not always. Situations like these can really have an effect on the look you are trying to achieve, and in this case, the desired look required was depth of field. Ordinarily, that’s no big deal. However, what made this difficult was the size of the office.

Knowing your equipment will help when you are put into a situation like this. The trick that I like to use is the built-in ND filters on the video camera.

On this shoot, I was using a Panasonic AF-100 video camera, which has three built-in ND filters.

-          ND4 = Reduced light by 2/STOPS

-          ND16 = Reduced light by 4/STOPS
-          ND64 = Reduced light by 6/STOPS

With the limited space available, I couldn’t get the right distance from the subject or use a lens with a longer focal length. So my only option was to grab a wider lens with the highest f/stop possible and choose an ND filter.  

By using the second ND filter and opening up the lens to its widest aperture, which in this case was f/1.8, I was able to achieve the desired depth of field and get the professional look that we were striving for.

I’ve been in plenty of similar situations where this little trick has come in handy. Below is a screen grab of one of those situations. The talent we were shooting needed to be placed in front of a wall with barely any space behind him.

 Here’s the depth of field I was able to achieve by simply using the built-in ND4 filter.

 

 

Here’s another example that shows how effective this trick can be in creating depth in your shot.
 

 

So the next time you’re in a small space, or even if you’re just looking to get better depth of field, look to ND filters and you’ll be just fine.

 

Charlie Crose is a videographer and editor with Firstline Creative & Media, LLC. Mr. Crose's work has been featured across a variety of national cable networks and local broadcast affiliates.