OCA TaoP

OCA degree in photography module 1

Focus at different apertures

This exercise builds on the depth of field exploration I carried out in the previous exercise. The process was very similar except instead of having a fixed aperture and changing focal point, I shot three images with a fixed focal point and varied the aperture for each shot. The result can be seen below. f/22 1/80 sec 70mm ISO1000

f/8 1/640 sec 70mm ISO1000

f/2.8 1/4000 sec 70mm ISO1000

In the first photograph all of the bench is in focus due to the large depth of field achieved at f/22. In the second photograph we can see the ends of the bench start to blur both in the foreground and the background. In the last photograph, shot wide open at f/2 .8, we can see increased blurring in the foreground and background and the building at the back of the photograph is almost unrecognisable.

 

 

Focus with a set aperture

For this exercise we were asked to take three photographs of a scene with depth, with a focal point at different depths in the scene. Unfortunately due to time pressures the photographs are not the most beautiful or interesting, but they do illustrate the concept of “Shallow depth of field” quite well. Focal Point deep in the photo.

Focal point at the mid point of the photo

Focal Point close to the camera

So which of the photographs do I prefer? It would have to be the first photograph were the focal point is deep in the photograph and the lamppost and building are sharp and in focus. It’s the most visually appealing photograph because compared to the other two there is more interesting subject matter in focus. The closer the focal point gets to the camera, the more the building and lamppost are thrown out of focus, and this makes for a less engaging photograph. That is not to say that the first photograph is an attention grabbing or show stopping image. Below you will see an portrait of my daughter were I have used a shallow depth of field and leading lines to draw attention to her as the subject of the photograph.

ellie-1001

I find a photograph of my daughter or interesting than the three above because; –

  1. it has my daughter in it
  2. it’s more colourful
  3. it hasn’t been taken to illustrate a technical point in photography
  4. I find people more interesting than lampposts.