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.