vopehov506 posted at 5:04 PM Tue, 2 May 2023 - #4464048

Well then the sample might of been wrong especially when you have a comparison of two.

It's not wrong, it's just one example. The effect will be more extreme if you have a single subject close up to the camera and a background that is far away. But even then you can adjust not just the point of focus but also the depth. Doing that right is part of the composition of the image, just like lighting and camera angle. For the skater, if the purpose was telling a story, you'd probably have a wider establishing shot first to establish the scene (with the central figure further away and deeper DOF), with the close-up to follow, so it's not necessary for the close-up to also provide all those background details.

For your alien landing hanger, in the image it's a little unclear to me what the ship is doing. Is it sitting on the strut or is it flying between? The only depth cue is a tiny amount of occlusion from some equipment in front of it, but I really have to study the image to see that. Some depth of field would help there. (Also motion blur if it's supposed to be in motion.) I think DOF would also increase the menace of the alien in the close-up. Uniform focus makes it look like the entire scene is further away.