What does deep depth of field refer to in an image?

Deep depth of field is a photographic technique where a large portion of the image is in focus, meaning that objects both near and far from the camera lens appear sharp. This is often desirable in scenarios like landscape photography, where the photographer wants to capture the details throughout the scene, from the foreground to the background.

Using a small aperture (high f-stop number) helps achieve this effect by allowing only a small amount of light to enter the lens, which increases the plane of focus. The result is an image where details in both the foreground and background are clear, making it particularly effective for compositions that require clarity across the entire frame.

The other choices describe various aspects of focus that would result in limited depth of field. For example, focusing solely on a specific object, having a very narrow focus area, or creating a blurred background and foreground are techniques associated with shallow depth of field, which contrasts with deep depth of field.