What influence does moving farther from the subject have on depth of field?

Moving farther from the subject does indeed increase the depth of field. Depth of field refers to the range of distance within a photograph that appears acceptably sharp. When you increase the distance between the camera and the subject, the depth of field expands, allowing more of the scene to be in focus. This is particularly useful in landscape photography, where having both foreground and background elements sharp is often desired.

This phenomenon occurs due to the way lenses focus light; as the distance increases, the circle of confusion (which defines what is considered in focus) becomes smaller. Therefore, more of the background and foreground will appear sharp along with the subject, effectively enhancing the depth of field.

In contrast, reducing the distance to the subject generally leads to a shallower depth of field, making it harder to keep both the subject and the background in focus simultaneously. This principle is fundamental in photography and helps photographers control the way their images convey depth and focus.