What type of camera do you have? What you're describing isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it describes a camera with a shallow depth of field. Camera macro modes, used for up-close photos, often exaggerate this effect, and it often gives a pleasing effect: a flower might be in great focus, but the house in the background is blurred, drawing your attention to the flower.
With fancier cameras you can "stop down" the lens, which will let less light in, and expand the range of what's in focus. If you can tell us what type of camera you have, someone here might be able to help figure out if it's something that can be done on your camera.
Matty is right in the post above. The effect you are describing is related to the “aperture” (aka lens opening) and also to some degree the lens focal-length. You had previously told me that one of your lenses is a 300mm. Typically, that focal length will “compress” the view and blur the background at almost any aperture. Actually, many times that is considered a desirable thing because it helps eliminate a busy background and emphasizes the main subject.
When I really want a larger DoF to keep things both close and far in focus, then what I usually do is; a) use a wider angle focal-length (like the 18mm end of your 18-70mm lens); b) set the camera to “aperture priority” (often labeled “Av” on the camera). This lets you “fix” the lens opening (controlling DoF) and the camera then picks the shutter speed that “works” with that opening. I can try to use the largest number (smallest opening) that still keeps a “reasonable” shutter speed (I do not usually hand-hold below 1/60th-sec). On the 18-70mm lens you had earlier described, you could try something like f16 or higher. If you cannot get a fast enough shutter speed with the smaller lens opening, then the next option is to increase the light sensitivity of the sensor (aka ISO). A higher ISO setting makes the sensor more sensitive to light (allowing a higher shutter speed), but since nothing in life is free, it also may make the picture more “grainy” (aka “noise”).
See, it is all a pile of interrelated compromises. The “trick” to photography is to get a feel for what these different factors are and how they work together so that you can produce the result that you want almost without thinking about it.
posted by MattyDubs
With fancier cameras you can "stop down" the lens, which will let less light in, and expand the range of what's in focus. If you can tell us what type of camera you have, someone here might be able to help figure out if it's something that can be done on your camera.
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posted by John1Pa
When I really want a larger DoF to keep things both close and far in focus, then what I usually do is; a) use a wider angle focal-length (like the 18mm end of your 18-70mm lens); b) set the camera to “aperture priority” (often labeled “Av” on the camera). This lets you “fix” the lens opening (controlling DoF) and the camera then picks the shutter speed that “works” with that opening. I can try to use the largest number (smallest opening) that still keeps a “reasonable” shutter speed (I do not usually hand-hold below 1/60th-sec). On the 18-70mm lens you had earlier described, you could try something like f16 or higher. If you cannot get a fast enough shutter speed with the smaller lens opening, then the next option is to increase the light sensitivity of the sensor (aka ISO). A higher ISO setting makes the sensor more sensitive to light (allowing a higher shutter speed), but since nothing in life is free, it also may make the picture more “grainy” (aka “noise”).
See, it is all a pile of interrelated compromises. The “trick” to photography is to get a feel for what these different factors are and how they work together so that you can produce the result that you want almost without thinking about it.
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