Saturday, August 24: This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is inspired by Matthew George’s post on focus, in which he introduced us to the basics of depth of field and aperture. He explained what an image with a shallow depth of field looks like (or conversely, a photo with a greater depth of field), and how the aperture setting on your camera affects it.
Cheri Lucas Rowlands of WordPress writes: For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus. Depending on your skill level or type of camera, tinker with the manual settings, use the auto focus feature, or play around with an app. Some ideas:
- Snap a photo of something or someone in focus, against a blurred background.
- Share a panorama or landscape in sharp focus, in which you can see details far away.
- Use a camera app to force focus (or blur) in an experimental way.
- Take multiple photos of the same scene or subject using different aperture settings and publishing the results.
IN A NEW POST CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO DEMONSTRATING THE CONCEPT OF FOCUS.
I worked on this today, specifically following the instructions to change my aperture settings, using the smaller number f-stop to get a shallow depth of field and a larger numbered f-stop to get a greater depth of field. I’m not sure my experiments worked very well, especially because when I used the higher f-stop number, I just got a lot of blur all around. Here’s an example of one I thought worked well.
I’m excited that WordPress is doing this Photography 101 series and then pushing us in the photography challenges to use what we learn. This is the first time I’ve gotten off my lazy butt and opened my camera manual and tried to use the manual settings!
Here are Matthew George’s instructions:
- For a more shallow depth of field, use a bigger opening/aperture, which is a lower-numbered f-stop.
- If you want a greater depth of field, use a smaller opening/aperture, which is a higher-numbered f-stop.
I liked this one too, although I wasn’t sure how this worked as some of the fungi on the foreground of the tree are blurred; the middle ground seems in focus and the distance is blurred.
And yet another photo of fungi. I know, exciting, right?
I took these shots of my son with a f-stop of 3.5, but I don’t understand why the background isn’t more blurred.
Here are a few successful shots (I think!) from my archives. These, however, were done with pure luck, and automatic settings. With much chagrin, I have to admit today is the first day I experimented with adjusting aperture manually.
Finally, in one weird moment today I tried an f-stop of 22 and here’s what I got. I took this in my living room and the focus was supposed to be the pot. Now, that’s just wrong!
What went wrong here?
Yeah, something went haywire with the last one, right? But there are a lot of good photos here, and maybe it was worth it? I like the second fungi one a lot!
Thanks a lot, Lynn. It was a good experiment to help me learn something new!
The last one looks a bit other-worldly! I have a similar problem as your fungi photo. Often when I try to use the macro setting I can’t get all the close up parts in focus. Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book and actually read my manual.
Haha, yes maybe you should read the manual, but you can see how much good it did for me to read mine! Sometimes just practice will eventually make perfect. 🙂
Or just good luck!
I have been feeling I should do the exact same thing as you have. That’s why there’s been no photo because I can’t get off my lazy butt. Well done for all your hard work 🙂
Haha, well, you can see I wasn’t very successful, but at least I pushed myself to try something new. And to read some instructions for a change. 🙂
I could not make head nor tails of the pdf (very small print) instructions but I did try and am now looking for a September course to attend.
Whoa! You are passing me by leaps and bounds. I’ll be waiting for you to share your knowledge with me! 🙂
Ok, I just have to stop myself becoming class clown which I have a tendency to do even though I know it hinders the learning experience.
Dearest mrs. carmichael, I don’t think you could resist being the class clown. And we wouldn’t want you to! 🙂
But it’s very exhausting and I don’t learn very much.
Haha! I’m sure it is exhausting! 🙂
Lovely photos for this challenge.
Thanks so much, Janaline!
You’re definitely learning, girl. I’ve got fuzzy eyes so it’s no earthly use me attempting this. (excuses! excuses! ) 🙂
I’ve got fuzzy eyes too, without my glasses, so I just shoot and hope for the best!
I’m thinking that last one had a slow shutter speed? That would be my guess. I love your first flower shot 🙂
Maybe you’re right, Photography Journal Blog. I just messed with the f-stop, using the Aperture adjustment. The shutter speed was supposed to adjust itself, but I don’t think it worked! Thanks so much about the first flower shot. 🙂
Yes, I guess the shutter didn’t get the memo 🙂 It is fun sometimes to do shots like that on purpose to create a ghost effect or to show the passage of time.
Yes, I’ve seen other photographers do this to great effect. I’ll have to try it more often!