# depth of field A visual cue in photography is limited depth of field in an image (i.e. a region within the scene is in focus and there are areas in front of and behind this region that are out of focus). Maya can simulate this effect. You can arrange a bunch of elements receding away from the camera. Maya doesn’t pay attention to depth cues, so if you rendered the scene you would see that the chess pieces are all in focus. This can be easily be changed. ![Scene with no depth of field.](cameras_depthOfField1.jpg "Scene with no depth of field.") ## measure distance First, you will need to establish your camera view and composition. You can [[cameras - saved camera views in maya|save that view to lock it into position]]. Turn on the object detail **Heads Up Display** to see important information about your project. Using the pulldown menus, select **Display > Heads Up Display > Object Details**. Select different objects in the perspective camera view and keep an eye on the **Distance From Camera** label. These numbers are the number of units that each object is away from the camera. Select one of the pieces that you would like to see in focus and make note of its distance value. ![With Object details turned on, you can see how far the queen is from the camera.](cameras_SelectQueen.jpg "With Object details turned on, you can see how far the queen is from the camera.") ## set up depth of field From the **View** menu in the perspective camera viewport, select **Camera Attribute Editor**. In the **Depth of Field** section, turn on **Depth of Field** and using the distance of the piece you selected, enter it as a value for the **Focus Distance** attribute. ![Select the camera attributes and turn on depth of field. Set the focal distance to the distance from the camera to the subject.](cameras_AttributeEditor_DOF.jpg "Select the camera attributes and turn on depth of field. Set the focal distance to the distance from the camera to the subject.") Render the perspective camera view. The object you selected is in focus and most of the other pieces are out of focus. This is referred to as a “shallow” field of focus. ![Rendering of the chess set with depth of field turned on.](cameras_DOFChessRendering.jpg "Rendering of the chess set with depth of field turned on.") ## tweak depth of field You can adjust the amount of content in-focus by tweaking the **F Stop** setting. A higher number will create a greater range of depth that is in focus and a lower number will narrow the range of content that is in focus. Adjust as needed to get the effect you want. --- Learn more… - [Adjust Depth of Field from Maya Help and Learning](https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2022/ENU/Maya-Rendering/files/GUID-3FCD5E9C-98AF-4BA9-99A1-381B036724E3-htm.html) - [Depth of Field from the Arnold for Maya User Guide](https://docs.arnoldrenderer.com/display/A5AFMUG/Depth+of+Field) --- tags: #3d #maya #cameras #resources home: [[! 3d modeling- maya]]