Single Focal Point

One of the biggest leaps towards tack sharp images you can take is using single point auto focus to hone in on your subject and nail the shot. Your subject then draws the viewers eye while potentially “blurring” out the background, depending on the settings you use to shoot the photo.

Cali, my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, getting her groom on. Here, she is in her “puppy cut” for comfort throughout the long, hot summer. Her round, pleading eyes are one of the most endearing qualities of this breed.

Another method, in photography, of drawing the viewer’s eye is with color. Focusing on a different color then the background color will make that different color a point of interest especially if that different color is the brightest area in the photo. In this way, the photographer is better equipped to tell a story through their shot.

My personal favorite single focal point image is one that utilizes a narrow depth of field. That blurry background can easily be achieved, depending on the lens used, by opening up the aperture of the lens (lowest f stop number on the lens).

A bumblebee gathering nectar from a newly bloomed Lamb’s Ear blossom. The difference in the bee’s color against the green of the background makes the bee stand out in the photo.

Shooting a subject using this technique does draw the viewer’s eye to the focal point in the photo as the subject is the most sharply focused area in the shot. As to what subject to shoot? Any subject will work using this method; whatever you choose for your subject…  HAPPY SHOOTING!

The Snow-in-Summer flowers are very small but very prolific. As a spreading, ground-cover type of perrenial, the blooms appear like a white carpet of “snow”.

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