Shallow Focus (selective focus)

A restricted depth of field, in which only one depth plane is in sharp focus, while objects in the background or close to the camera are out of focus, and thus blurry (see bokeh). The technique is typically used to direct the viewer’s attention to the objects in the plane that are in sharp focus. In addition, shallow focus is frequently used for close-ups suggesting psychological introspection, since a character thus appears to be oblivious to the world around him. The opposite of shallow focus is deep focus.