What does depth of field primarily control in a photograph?

Depth of field primarily controls the focus range in a photograph. It refers to the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that are acceptably sharp in the image. A shallow depth of field can isolate a subject by keeping it in sharp focus while blurring the background, which is often used in portrait photography to emphasize the subject. Conversely, a deep depth of field ensures that more elements of a scene are in focus, which is commonly desired in landscape photography where capturing detail throughout the frame is important.

This understanding of depth of field is crucial for photographers as it affects composition and the emotional impact of an image. By manipulating aperture settings, focal lengths, and distance from the subject, photographers can achieve the desired depth of field to enhance their creative vision. Other options such as color saturation, exposure time, and lens distortion relate to different aspects of photographic technique and do not pertain directly to the concept of how depth of field is determined or its effects in a photograph.