Personally, I think a photo with as much in focus as possible really stands out, when you have less DOF it is nice and does make the subject stand out, but,imo it should be more for a macro shot where you would be trying to express something in greater detail, a smaller part of the subject, if you will.Taking a picture of a whole coral, or fish (whatever the subject is) will still stand out in a photo with a great dof. I feel it gives the photo greater dimension as well as showing you are really trying to take a photo, not just a picture that the point and shoot feature is doing all the work. In a good photo you need to control your Aperature, lighting, shutter speed etc. Make the photo yours. Although some of my favorite pictures I have taken have been in full auto mode.OOOOps.....