Creating a shallow depth-of-field for your photos is a useful way to draw attention to your subject and the focal point of your image.

Many photographers will create a shallow depth of field in-camera at the time of the shooting, easily done by shooting at a low aperture, which will create a shallow depth of field. Shooting with a shallow depth of field is particularly prevalent in portrait and macro photography. However, it is a shooting technique you can apply to all genres of photography.

However, if you didn’t shoot with a low aperture at the time, or generally if your scene didn’t warrant a shallow depth of field at the time but want to try it out, you recreate that look in a few minutes using simple tools in Adobe Photoshop.

The video tutorial by photographer and image-editing master James Abbott guides you through the process from start to finish. Once you’ve watched the entire process, you’ll have the know-how to add the shallow depth of field look to any of your images, experiment with it, and customise the look to suit individual needs.

So get started and watch the tutorial below:

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Further reading:

If you want to delve further into black and white photography, the many ways you can convert your images, and the different looks you can give your work, take a look at our detailed guide on how to convert your images to black and white.