Here's some help with your photography:
White Balance White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic colorcasts, so that object(s) which appear white in the subject are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the "color temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. Understanding digital white balance can help you avoid colorcasts created by your camera's Auto (WB), thereby improving your photos under a wider range of lighting conditions. You can either allow the camera to do it automatically or do it manually.
You can follow the instructions for (WB). By pointing the camera at a white or gray card (angled so that it is reflecting light from the room) as a neutral reference, filling the screen completely with it, then pressing the White Balance button (or set it in the menu), the camera does its WB calculation.
From then on, any picture taken will have its color temperature shifted appropriately. It's quite simple, really, and you should not be afraid to try it out and see your indoors pictures improve considerably (assuming there is enough light for correct exposure).
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Depth of Field. Depth of field [DOF] is a precious commodity in close-up photography. Depth of field is controlled by the following set of rules. The first is that the DOF is equal to the square of the subject distance. The second is that it is inversely proportional to the square of the focal length. The third is the fact that the DOF doubles every time the aperture is made one stop smaller; [the F-stops.] This is the most important rule! In other words, the smaller the f-stops, [F11, F16, F22 etc.] the greater the depth of field. For instance, if the DOF at F16 were ½ inch, then at F22 the distance of the focus would be 1 inch. If you have not bought a digital camera be sure you can control the shutter (F-stop) then you do.
The depth of field on normal lenses, at F8 with the object in focusâ€"allows for 1/3 of the focus to be in front of the object and 2/3, in the back. When you select to use the micro function in the camera, the depth of field is dramatically changed and the DOF is reduced. The depth of field changes from the above equation to 2/3 focus in front of the object, to 1/3 focus in the back of the subject. This rule depends on the focal length of the lens you use.
A final word about depth of field -- the film-plane [the back of the camera] and the surface of the pen that you want to photograph MUST be parallel to each other to maximize the DOF. See figure 2.4 If you do not do this you greatly reduce the effectiveness of the depth of field.
I hope the article has helped you. I know this stuff as if were on the back of my hand- I hoped I explained it
