Shallow focus shot definition
What is a shallow focus shot?
A shallow focus shot is when the camera focuses on only a small part of the frame, and the rest is blurred. This helps draw the audience’s attention to a specific character, object, or detail. By blurring out distractions from the background or foreground, shallow focus helps emphasize characters, their emotions, or important objects or details in the story.
For an in-depth exploration of this technique, check out our full guide to shallow focus shot, complete with examples and breakdowns.
Shallow focus in film
Shallow focus shot examples
It’s helpful to see shallow focus shots in action before exploring how they operate within visual storytelling. Browse this curated selection of shallow focus shots to get a sense of their uses across films in every genre.
Guide the viewer’s eye
Show intimacy
Highlight feelings
Create tension
Uses
What does a shallow focus shot do?
Shallow focus shots can be used for a variety of storytelling reasons:
Direct attention
By focusing on just one thing and blurring the background, the audience is directed to pay attention to whatever the key subject in the frame is.
Create intimacy
Shallow focus can allow characters to seem like they’re in their own little world, which is why it’s often used for romantic or contemplative scenes.
Show emotion
Shallow focus allows a viewer to intensely focus on a subject, often allowing the audience to get into the mind of emotions of a character.
Create suspense
By blurring part of the frame, shallow focus shots can create an air of suspense. What we don't see leaves the mind to wonder.
Deep focus vs. shallow focus
Shallow focus vs deep focus
While shallow focus keeps only one thing in focus while blurring the background, deep focus keeps everything in the frame in focus, allowing viewers to see multiple layers of action or the entire landscape at once.
Case Study
Shot listing a shallow focus shot
Shallow focus shots are an immediate way to isolate a character in the shot. Sometimes this is done for romantic situations but it can also be used to communicate alienation. Consider this scene from Moonlight where even though Chiron is in the middle of a packed classroom, we get the sense of his isolation as he is captured in shallow focus.
Click the shot list below to take a closer look at the entire scene.
Shallow focus shots allow a filmmaker to highlight the importance of a specific detail, such as an object or character, but combining this shot with other techniques can enhance the visual language of the story.
Unexpected combos
How can you use a shallow focus shot with other camera techniques?
How to combine a shallow focus shot
Shallow focus shots are a versatile addition to any filmmaker’s visual language. While impactful on their own, they gain even more power when paired with other techniques. Here are some creative ways shallow focus shots can be combined with different cinematic approaches:
- Insert: This is a good shot to use to draw attention to a specific object or detail, as an insert shot with a shallow focus shot will blur the surroundings of the frame, while keenly highlighting the subject of the insert shot.
- Over-the-Shoulder: Using shallow focus while shooting over-the-shoulder focuses on the subject while softly blurring the listener. This can be useful for dialogue scenes where what the speaker is saying is very important.
- Tracking Shot: This shot keeps a moving subject sharp while the background blurs, allowing the character’s experience to be the focus.
- Close-up: A close-up combined with a shallow focus shot really focuses on a character’s face while blurring the background, which makes it good for highly emotional moments.
- Cutaway: A shallow focus shot with a cutaway switches the shot from a blurred background to a sharply focused subject, which can be helpful in moments when there is a POV change or a transition is needed.
Frequently asked questions about shallow focus
A shallow focus shot is when only one part of the image is in focus, while the rest is blurred.
Shallow focus keeps only a specific part of the image sharp while blurring the rest, whereas deep focus keeps everything in the frame in clear, sharp focus at once.
A shallow focus shot is done using a wide aperture (low f-stop) lens setting to create a narrow depth of field that keeps the subject sharp while blurring the background and foreground.
Films like Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Lady Bird, and The Piano all use shallow focus to show their characters’ intense, personal moments.
Filmmakers use shallow focus shots in many ways but often they help narrow the audience's attention onto a single character, object, etc. or to create a visually pleasing aesthetic that softens the background.
