Thursday, January 13, 2011

Focus

This is one (of the many) things I struggle with. Of all the blogs and books I have read about photography, mastering focus is one that comes with time and practice. It is currently my #1 frustration when taking pictures. There are so many variables when trying to nail a focus. It isn't as easy as it seems. Sure, pointing the red dot at what you want to focus on seems easy enough. However, my focus tends to "fall" on everything but what I want it to. I am determined to master it....even if it takes years.

Below is an easy example. The front pine cone is what I wanted in my focus and everything else fell behind it and to the side.





Now that I called my own bluff, you may want look back on my photos and see how I struggle with something called "focus". Don't.

8 comments:

  1. I like the composition of this shot! And the colors are awesome.

    Regarding focus: This may not be helpful at all, but I found some useful tips about focus in my Nikon owner's manual. The "focus-lock" feature is very useful to me...do you ever play with that? Although, the next thing I need to figure out is...when I lock the focus, does the exposure lock, too? Maybe I'll look that up some day. Maybe I won't. Haha! :)

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  2. Your pictures are getting better and better!

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  3. Thanks sister!!

    Beth - Thanks for the tip. I can't focus lock when shooting in manual. It will only lock if you are shooting in automatic. I can lock my exposure. You might be able to as well?

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  4. Oh you're shooting in manual! Good for you!! I usually shoot in Program mode...I don't know what the equivalent of the "P" is in Canon speak, but with Nikon it's kind of like shooting in between manual and automatic. (You probably knew that though.) I haven't even attempted the manual yet! :)

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  5. I jumped on the manual bangwagon a few months ago and ruined so many photo opportunities because I was learning (and still am). Try it sometime. I love being able to adjust my apenture and ISO when taking specific pictures.

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  6. I have fun with aperture and ISO too--I guess the difference is that in Program mode, I choose aperture and ISO, and the camera sets the shutter speed and focus. I don't know if I would have the patience to do all four! :) Maybe you will inspire me to try it...

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  7. Ok...I know exactly what you will like - shooting in aperture priority. The camera adjusts the shutter speed, but you adjust your aperture and focus. I promise you, you will LOVE picking your own focus and not letting the camera do it. Every camera has a number of focus points. My Canon has 7 and some cameras have 51!! You can go through the focus points and find one that you like when you are trying to take a particular picture. Once you start picking your own focus, you will never let the camera do it again. I think aperture priorty is not overwhelming as much as manual is. You are right, juggling all 4 (and a moving subject) is hard....which is why I ruin so many pictures.

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  8. It's so easy to ruin the pictures! Thank goodness for digital though, huh? It's nice to have the liberty to take a hundred pictures of the same thing, and not have to worry about developing them! :)

    Usually what I do with focus is, I use the selected focus point to autofocus on my desired focal point, then I hit the focus-lock and recompose the picture, keeping the desired focal point but composing it differently than the camera would. And this usually works out great for me, except, of course, when I'm trying to get pictures of a certain fast-moving toddler, at which point I employ the "wish and prayer" strategy, which occasionally works out for me...hahaha. :)

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