I was wondering what everybody's thoughts were on focusing and Depth,
For example I made 'Flips' (the teddy) the soft focus and myself the focal point of the photo below,
Where would you have put the focal point? Would you do it any differently?
Furthermore I don't have a very wide range of F-stops so this is the maximum focus and 'blurr out' I can get if that makes sense.
I like the SC on Flips but less so on the jeans - too distracting. For me the dof is fine, I like the emphasis on the music. You can try to play with the shot/focus further in things like Ribbet and Picmonkey but honestly I think you are being a little hard on yourself (aren't we all though) and if you are working to your cameras limitations then there is not a lot you can do. The more I look at it the more I like it.
I think it depends on what you want the photo to say James. In this case I see a man playing a guitar and Flips watching, with the emphasis on "man plays the gutiar" (despite the SC). Focus on Flips would say to me "Flips is listening to a man playing a guitar" and I think that would work better for me personally. Re the amount of blur - if the two weren't quite so close together then there would be a bit more blur (if Flips was in focus). Also I wonder if it is necessary to see quite so much of the guitar player's left hand and head? - composition wise I think less of the man and more of the guitar and right hand would tell more of a story. Just my thoughts. I really like the concept. PS you have still a bit of colour left over on the Jeans and the left hand that you might not have spotted. I hope this helps a little.
I think I would focus more on the guitar/you. A quick look at the background may also help to get rid of the door handles. Looks like a nice C chord, what guitar is it?
A very difficult task you set yourself here, but I would have liked better either the guitar in focus all the way from end to end (so deep a field and so close almost impossible to capture) or Flips in focus (all of him and more of him) and the player blurred. I think you would have to move for either of these to pan out though.
My two cents worth. Personally I would focus on your left hand. That way focus in not in the middle of the shot and also makes the teddy a little clearer, since it is such a large and important part of the shot. You have additionally gone for selective colouring. That too would work better if the teddy was in focus. Essentially I would keep the focus away from the centre of the image.
@claireuk I agree maybe I'm being a bit harsh but thank you! The more I look at it the more I like it I find :) @happysnap thank you! I didn't do any post editing at all it was all from the image taken so I was a little gutted about the colour ok the jeans, I appreciate I though! @padlock it's one of my favourite F chords and it's a vintage electro acoustic...thank you!! @frankhymus thank you! @abhijit thank you so much!
All, thank you!
my 365 project includes Flips everyday which is why it is a little more complicated :)
I'd not do selective colour at all because very few images benefit from it and at least finish off the jeans! Grins. And I agree with the others, focus should be on the teddy - tho it's not really clear what it is, be better to have a profile shot of the ted in my opinion as although doing a project, it should still be apparent what it is as a stand alone image? I also find the door handles distracting, would've changed the set up or used DOF to make them out of focus, or even photoshopped em out!
It's funny how differently different people see (and miss!) different things. Now that the color on you has been pointed out, I'd definately take it out, but I didn't notice it.
I don't generally like foreground blur. It's not a pet peeve of mine, it's just that somehow it looks more unnatural than background blurr. However, to my eyes, the selective color on Flips "put him in focus" as it were - the emphasis on him balanced the sharpness of focus on you.
I would have liked all of Flips in the frame, but again, you cut off so little of his head it wasn't a big distraction.
Since I've been following the story, I don't even mind the door handles. The whole set-up, maybe even the fact that parts of both subjects are cut off - small parts of Flips and your entire head - gives it a sort of claustrophobic, I'm going to say "dorm room" look because I don't know what the technical term for your quarters would be.
@blightygal I refuse to use photoshop or any post editing lol, that and I've never tried :p the SC was done as the frame, take a look at my other pics :) @therubysusan thank you, I appreciate it!
@nicholas James, Photoshop (and it's ilk) are a ton of fun. In your spare time (when you get some) give it a go. When the camera produces a jpeg for you - when you apply one of its built-in filters, which is what I take it you mean by "as the frame" you're basically letting the camera do the photoshopping for you and accepting its judgement. Once you get the hang of it (or accumulate a ridiculous number of filters and presets!) it's fun to have the creative control.
But until then, soldier on!
It works great! Like what has been said before, it depends on where the focus needs to be. it makes sense that Flips is watching the guitar player, so that is where the focus should be. I disagree the full Flips need be in the image. We see exactly what he sees while only seeing a portion of him. If you were showing only an ear or a nose, it's the same. We know exactly what you want us to see. Flips does not need to be the main subject, just as long as he's there. It works.
The only thing I see here is that there is still a bit of color on the blue jeans. Personally, I don't care much for selective coloring. But that's just a very personal opinion on my part. I know a lot of people like selective color.
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@padlock it's one of my favourite F chords and it's a vintage electro acoustic...thank you!!
@frankhymus thank you!
@abhijit thank you so much!
All, thank you!
my 365 project includes Flips everyday which is why it is a little more complicated :)
I don't generally like foreground blur. It's not a pet peeve of mine, it's just that somehow it looks more unnatural than background blurr. However, to my eyes, the selective color on Flips "put him in focus" as it were - the emphasis on him balanced the sharpness of focus on you.
I would have liked all of Flips in the frame, but again, you cut off so little of his head it wasn't a big distraction.
Since I've been following the story, I don't even mind the door handles. The whole set-up, maybe even the fact that parts of both subjects are cut off - small parts of Flips and your entire head - gives it a sort of claustrophobic, I'm going to say "dorm room" look because I don't know what the technical term for your quarters would be.
@therubysusan thank you, I appreciate it!
But until then, soldier on!