Exercise
Find a subject in front of a background with depth. Take a close viewpoint and zoom in; you’ll need to be aware of the minimum focusing distance of your lens. Focus on the subject and take a single shot. Then, without changing the focal length, set the focus to infinity and take a second shot.
Results
This first image was taken with the point of focus on the front gravestone. I used a wide aperture to ensure that the out of focus areas were as blurred as possible.
In this image, the focus point has moved to the back gravestone, again a wide aperture was used.
Assessment
It can be seen in both images that there is clear separation between the front and back of the scene.
Normally, an image would look more natural with the foreground being the element in focus however in this particular scene, the framing suggests that the intent of the picture is to show the full graveyard and as such, it the second image looks the more natural. Shot in this way, the out of focus front gravestone appears to be deliberately blurred and included in the frame to add emphasis to the depth of the scene.
Learning
Before this exercise I had expected the front focussed image to be more natural. As discussed above, this is not the case.
I have learnt two things:
- If there is an obvious, natural, content to a frame, then this is the part that is expected to be focussed. Doing the opposite might draw the attention of the viewer and this may be deliberate, but I need to be wary that it may seem odd.
- Having a deliberately out of focus element to the scene not only draws attention to the sharper part, it can also add a greater sense of depth than might otherwise be there.