Lesson 3 Long Exp. and DOF

[John Boccanfuso]

Here is my first photo for a long exposure showing movement I made a photo of a ceiling fan’s blades spinning.
The second for a short depth of field, I chose to photograph a berry on an ice covered tree branch. I wanted to focus on just one berry and blur everything else. Some of the other berries are visible, but not in focus while the one berry covered in ice is in focus.

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[Duncan Rawlinson]

Lesson 3 Long Exp. and DOF

Hi John,

First the EXIF data for these photographs:

berries-short-DOF.jpg
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/berries-short-DOF.jpg
Date Time Original: 2014:02:05 13:45:07
Exposure Time: 1/125
F Number: f / 4
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 40mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 6D
LensInfo: 17/1 40/1 0/0 0/0
LensModel: EF17-40mm f/4L USM
LensSerialNumber: 0000000000
Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USM
Exif Version:
Color Space: 1
Date Time Digitized: 2014:02:05 13:45:07
Subsec Time Original: 42
Subsec Time Digitized: 42
Shutter Speed Value: 6.97
Aperture Value: 4
Max Aperture Value: 4
Focal Plane X Resolution: 1520
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 1520
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 3
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Saturation: Normal
ExifIFDPointer: 206
X Resolution: 240
Y Resolution: 240
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2014:02:06 05:16:30
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Windows)
DateCreated: 2014-02-05T13:45:07.42

Fan-Motion.jpg
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Fan-Motion.jpg
Date Time Original: 2014:02:10 17:27:06
Exposure Time: 1/12
F Number: f / 4
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 640
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 36mm
White Balance: Auto white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 6D
LensInfo: 17/1 40/1 0/0 0/0
LensModel: EF17-40mm f/4L USM
LensSerialNumber: 0000000000
Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USM
Exif Version:
Color Space: 1
Date Time Digitized: 2014:02:10 17:27:06
Subsec Time Original: 00
Subsec Time Digitized: 00
Shutter Speed Value: 3.70
Aperture Value: 4
Max Aperture Value: 4
Focal Plane X Resolution: 2540.39
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 2543.93
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
ExifIFDPointer: 206
X Resolution: 240
Y Resolution: 240
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2014:02:10 21:47:28
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Windows)
DateCreated: 2014-02-10T17:27:06.00

Now with your shallow depth of field image you’ll immediately notice a few things. The first is that yes this photograph has shallow depth of field but the area of interest is not really in focus. In general the use of shallow depth of field is great for focusing the viewer’s eye on something in particular. One of the keys to this is to just ensure the most interesting thing in your image is in focus and that the depth of field is appropriate for the subject.

I this case the depth of field is very shallow so that’s good but the area that’s in focus is just in the wrong place.

Take a look at these:

photo by PerryMcKenna

photo by nanagyei

Notice how the most interesting areas of these photos are in focus and that your eye is drawn to that area?

Over time with practice you’ll learn to control your depth of field or accomplish this. The simplified way of thinking about it is that just keep the best parts in focus. Blur out the rest, just like your eyes do automatically. It jus takes practice.

In your motion image you’ve certainly managed to capture some motion in this abstract photo. It’s quite lovely actually. My only note on this photograph would be that when shooting something abstract like this you often want to include something for scale or perspective. Otherwise it’s hard to know what it even is. Of course it’s not essential but it could be helpful.

Also with an image that is symmetrical like this it’s best to compose in such a way that things line up nicely.

A final note is that I like the color on this the motion image. It’s quite lovely.

Nice work here.

See you on the next assignment.

[John Boccanfuso]

Thanks for looking at this. Hope you are feeling better!

I also noticed that the area of interest is not the sharpest. I have noticed when shooting, at times, that the area or subject I want to be sharp doesn’t turn out sharp. I’m not sure whether I’m trying to get too close or just not utilizing the focus correctly. This was one of those cases. I had taken several photos of the berries but none where how I imagined them to turn out.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

It could be a number of things from camera shake/slow shutter speeds or even a faulty lens.

I would experiment a little and see if you can’t figure it out.

If you want you can test it doing something like this:
http://photographylife.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues

[Author]

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