Originally posted by Nass Try about 4m away with a flash, 200mm lens at F22, then cropping, alternatively try about 20cm away with a flash, 10-17mm set at 13mm at F32 then cropping. They'll produce radically different looks, see which you like better
I'd go with further away, maybe not 200mm, but maybe 135, and a narrow aperture.
One thing about DoF, if you are relatively close to something that is in your foreground, it's going to be much harder to get something in focus in the back of the scene. At farther distances, the front and back can fit within the DoF with less trouble.
ie:
_____________Camera:----front------------back = The front will be in focus, and the DoF will fall off sharply behind the front subject.
Camera:----------------------front------------back = The front and back items will fit within the DoF much better.
You will obviously need to experiment to find the best settings.