[NIKON D750, 35.0 mm f/1.4, Mode = Manual, ISO 640, 1/30, ƒ/1.4, (35mm = 35)]

Why would I like this lens so much? I believe it is mainly because I can do with it what I could never do with a smartphone camera–Shallow Depth-of-field.

It is a great way to isolate a subject.

Bokeh is “the effect of a soft out-of-focus background that you get when shooting a subject, using a fast lens, at the widest aperture, such as f/2.8 or wider.”  Bokeh is a photograph’s pleasing or aesthetic quality of the out-of-focus blur.

Most of the time, I want to add the context of a person in their environment. Shooting with your lens closed down to ƒ/5.6 or greater gives you context because more is in focus.

However, the shallow depth-of-field allows for some context, often keeping something out of focus yet still discernible, like this of a lady working out with her trainer.

One thing that affects your depth-of-field is how close you are to the subject. Getting close will give you the shallowest depth-of-field. Sometimes if you get too close to some microlenses, your issue will appear out of focus because it is too shallow.

In this photo of the bud on the plant, you can see the “Circle of Confusion.”

In optics, a circle of confusion is an optical spot caused by a cone of light rays from a lens not coming to a perfect focus when imaging a point source. It is also known as a disk of confusion, a circle of indistinctness, a blur circle, or a blur spot.

I love my Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 and love it even more on the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera. What a great combination.

When shooting in a restaurant kitchen, you don’t always want to show the working kitchen, but I still wanted to feature the team members. Shooting at ƒ/1.4 and getting close to the model helped me achieve a feel of the kitchen and keep details from being seen.