Light, Lines & Color

D is for Differential Focus

Nikon D60 with lens at 200mm: 1/400 second @ f/5.4 and ISO 400

Differential focus is when only a small area of an image is in focus and the remainder is blurred, allowing the subject to be isolated. This is one of my favorite techniques and I intentionally blur portions of many of my images in order to emphasize my subject or to add to the story without shifting focus away from my primary subject. By using a wide aperture like f/4.5 or 5.6 (or f/2.8 if you're lucky enough to have such a fast lens) and focusing carefully i.e. manually, you can separate your subject, like this crocus's stigmata, from the background of it's blurred petals. This also works to blur an otherwise messy background into a sea of color that surrounds the subject. (Wasn't I lucky that purple and yellow are complementary colors thus providing a very pleasing contrast in the photo below.)

Nikon D60 with lens at 200mm: 1/125 second @ f/5.6 and ISO 200

In "C is for Composition", I said that "Photographers have a multitude of decisions to make about light, lines (leading or otherwise), balance, motion, space, focus, perspective, and framing." Focus, differential or otherwise, and its partner depth of field can play a large role in the composition of an image.

Nikon D7000 with lens at 112mm: 1/13 second @ f/5.6 and ISO 100

In this image of the cocktail nuts, I wanted to ensure the focus was on the nuts but within the context of entertaining and what better way than to show some hors d'oeuvres but allow them to be blurred while ensuring the nuts are in sharp focus. A shallow depth of field created with the f/5.6 allowed the blur I wanted while I focused on the nuts.

Nikon D90 with lens at 90mm: 1/250 @ f/5.6 and ISO 400

Lastly, I used differential focus in this image of the sunflowers to tell the story ... to focus on the bloom with the colorful images of what it will become blurred in the background.

Play with differential focus and share your images on the Light, Lines & Color Community in Google+. If you're not a member, join - it's free. Then just ask to become a member of our little community - we love to share and learn.

 

A is for Auto Focus

Learning the focus functionality of a DSLR camera can very quickly become overwhelming, especially when reading the manual for the first time. The manufacturer's manual-writers freely use terminology like AF-S and AF-C, and they differentiate between things like Autofocus Mode and AF-Area Mode. Why couldn't there be just one mode? It's a whole new language you have to learn before you can truly maximize the functionality of your DSLR camera, and, as many of us have learned, language and terminology is different for the same things depending on what manufacturer made your camera. I happen to "speak" Nikon and have steared clear of also learning a lot of the lingo of my husband's Canon because, well ... quite frankly, I confuse easily, and I really want to learn to use my camera first and foremost.

So let's drill down on the subject of focus, and auto-focus to be more specific. I may be over simplifying this but forgive me, I'd like to make your lives a little bit easier so you can get out from behind that manual and into the field shooting. Quite simply, at the start, there are THREE DECISIONS TO MAKE ABOUT FOCUS and they will determine the settings you'll select on your camera.

1. Will you be shooting using Autofocus or Manual Focus?
2. Will your subject be stationary or moving?
3. What area of the frame do you want/need to be in focus?

WILL YOU BE SHOOTING USING AUTOFOCUS (AF) OR MANUAL FOCUS (M), i.e. will you let the camera do the focusing or you will you be doing it

When I started, I shot everything with Autofocus (AF) on and I still start out almost every shoot that way, as it helps me focus (no pun intended) my attention, up front, on composition. However, much of what I shoot these days is stationary, like food, or close-up like flowers, and I want a specific part of the image to be perfectly in focus, so I will change the selector to M for manual - REMEMBERING TO CHANGE THE SETTING ON THE LENS TO MANUAL TOO (if necessary).

WILL YOUR SUBJECT BE STATIONARY OR MOVING? The answer will determine what "Autofocus mode" you will select.

In the world of DSLRs, there are generally three choices here and again your choice is based on the movement of your subject:

AF-S (Single focus): Choose if your subject is stationary. (S for stationary.) [This would be One Shot Mode in Canon speak.]

AF-C (Continuous focus): Choose if your subject is in continuous motion (C for Continuous.) [This would be Al Servo in Canon speak.]

AF-A (Automatic focus): Choose if you don't know if your subject may be stationary or continually moving, so your camera will automatically choose AF-S or AF-C depending on what it detects your subject is doing. (A is for Automatic selection.) [This would be Al Focus in Canon speak.]

WILL YOUR SUBJECT BE TAKING UP ALL OR SOME OF THE FRAME AS IT STAYS STATIONARY OR MOVES, i.e. what area of the frame do you want/need to be in focus? The answer will determine which "AF-Area Mode" you will choose.

Recently I acquired a Nikon D7000 which has up to 39 points of focus so I now have more choices than I did say with my first DSLR the D60, but conceptually nothing has changed. Allow me to keep it simple for now by describing the D60s three choices:

Closest Subject which, in reality, is an automatic mode defaulting to focusing on the closest subject detected by the camera in the frame.

Single Point which allows you to specifically select a single focus point within your frame.

Dynamic Area which allows you to select a point of focus but if the subject moves/leaves that point of focus the camera will focus based on information from the surrounding points of focus. In the case of the D60 there are only three, organized horizontally across the frame, whereas other models have many more distributed throughout the frame.

So, to recap, remember to think like your camera (you remember C is for Camera - Think Like One), "To give this photographer what he/she wants, how should I be set up?"

Questions to ask?

1. Autofocus or Manual focus?
2. Stationary or moving subject?
3. What area or portion of my frame should be in focus?

Y is for You

"A Delusional Old Grinder" © 2012 Claudia Danforth Ward
Nikon D90: 0.8 sec @ f/13, ISO 400, Aperture Priority 

I ran across this quotation from Mark Twain the other day and it rang so true to me I wanted to share it with you here and under what better letter than "Y" for You.

"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

"Blue Lace Hydranea" © 2011 Claudia Danforth Ward
Nikon D60: 1/200 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 100, Shutter Priority 

As photographers, so much of what we do is centered on focus - Tack sharp focus, differential focus, automatic focus, manual focus, focus modes, and points of focus. All of these relate to decisions we make to create the image ruminating in our imaginations.

"The Huddle" © 2011 Claudia Danforth Ward
Nikon D60: 30.0 sec @ f/40, ISO 400, Aperture Priority 

According to our friends at Merriam-Webster an imagination is "the thinking or active mind". We all have one -  it's where dreams are made, we simply have to let our imaginations flourish and become focused on our dreams and the images of those dreams. You'll never know what you can create until you follow your imagination.

"A Chorus of Orchids" © 2012 Claudia Danforth Ward
Nikon D90: 5.0 sec @ f/29, ISO 200, Aperture Priority