day 11: a photography lesson
One of the most important aspects to a great picture is nailing the focus. The following photos use my DSLR, but the basic rules apply to point and shoot cameras as well. I'm using a lens here with a maximum aperture of f/1.4, this means that the "pupil" of the lens goes about as wide open as it can get. The problem here, is that it gives a very shallow depth of field and focusing becomes very difficult.
Finney is not usually a willing subject, but she consented to model today. For this image, I allowed the camera to auto focus at will. Notice how this is not always a wise decision. Here the focus fell on the wood behind her. To get Finney in focus, I changed my focus points (check your manual) so I could choose where the focus fell.
I also changed my angle, she didn't want to turn her head. The result is this picture. The focus is on her eyes, exactly where I wanted it.
In this 100% crop of her eye, you can see my reflection as well as the rest of the room. Pretty cool no? This is a catchlight. It gives depth to a photo.
Here the focus landed on her nose, not all together unpleasant do you think?
Play around with the focus on your camera. You'll love the results.
0 comments:
Post a Comment