There are some photographers who deliberately take pictures “out of focus”, that is, in simple words, they take blurry pictures. And it doesn’t just “not upset” them, it brings them pleasure. The more you shoot like this, the better you'll be at it. Such footage is easy to shoot, but difficult to perceive or explain.
As always, we will give you some simple tips and show you examples of great photos.
What you need to know about OOF
Shooting out-of-focus (OOF) photographs certainly takes a lot of experience, practice, and talent. Correct, and most importantly, beautifully captured blur makes the picture very attractive to the viewer, OOF causes a kind of curiosity, and a desire to learn more about the subject. Such pictures force viewers to think creatively, fantasize, think out for themselves the information that they do not know about the object, based on what they already know.
How to shoot
- Shooting out of focus is not that difficult, the main thing is to set your lens to manual focus mode.
- Remember to open your aperture as wide as possible.
- The OOF you see in the viewfinder can look completely different as a result, and converting a photo to black and white can completely change the mood of an OOF shot.
Keep practicing.
One of the most important things to understand about photography, especially if you are a beginner, is the concept of focus. If you don't focus properly, you'll end up with blurry photos even if all other settings on your camera are correct. Focusing correctly can be both easy and difficult, depending on your subject, such as a still landscape or a fast-flying bird. In this photography tutorial, we'll tell you everything you need to know to focus properly and take sharp pictures.
What is Focus?
Every photograph you take has a focal plane. This is the region of space that can be the sharpest in a photograph.
It is generally accepted that the focal plane is something like a window that crosses the scene you are photographing. And any object in your photo that touches this window is "in focus". And when you move this plane, that is, the window back and forth, to get a sharp frame, this is called focusing.
In modern cameras, focusing usually takes place in the lens, inside which are lenses that can be moved back and forth to change the optical path of light. In the same vein, if you physically move the lens away from the camera, you will change the focus position. (This is how extenders work, they are extension rings for macro photography.)
Focusing occurs either automatically or manually. Autofocus or autofocus is when the camera system controls a motor to move the lens of the lens to change focus. To focus manually, you need to turn the focus ring on the lens instead.
NIKON D800E+ 105mm f/2.8 FR 105mm, ISO 200, 1/320, f/5.6
Manual focus vs autofocus
Initially, all lenses were produced with manual focus. Autofocus is a relatively new invention and first appeared in a lens in 1977.
Autofocus systems use a motor in the lens or camera to focus on the subject. Just press the shutter button halfway and the camera will focus on the subject of your choice.
Most photographers use autofocus more than manual focus. The main reason is convenience; it's easier than focusing manually. Autofocus also tends to be faster, and in many cases it is also more accurate (for example, tracking autofocus on a moving subject). This is why sports and wildlife photographers tend to rely so heavily on autofocus.
However, manual focus should not be forgotten. If your camera is having trouble autofocusing, such as in dark environments, manual focus will solve the problem and allow you to focus accurately. And if you pre-focus and set the lens to manual focus by toggling the appropriate lever, you can lock focus for a series of photos. While most photographers use autofocus more than manual focus, it's useful to be able to use both.
NIKON D7000+ 24mm f/1.4 FR 24mm, ISO 100, 1/2500, f/1.8
Phase and contrast autofocus.
How does autofocus technically work? You don't need to know exactly the science behind it, but you should be familiar with the two main types of autofocus systems today: phase detection and contrast detection. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses:
The principle of operation of the phase sensor
Let's analyze phase autofocus, it is more often used on SLR cameras, and to make everything clearer, we first analyze the DSLR circuit.
- A ray of light
- main mirror
- Auxiliary mirror
- Sensor and shutter
- Pin for adjusting the main mirror
- Auxiliary mirror adjustment pin
- Phase focus sensor
- Pentaprism
- Optical viewfinder
The imaging light (1) passes through the lens and hits the translucent primary mirror at a 45 degree angle (2). The mirror reflects part of the light beam onto the pentaprism (8). The pentaprism magically flips the image and sends it to the viewfinder (9). The other part of the light passes through the main translucent mirror (2) and is reflected from the auxiliary mirror (3) onto the phase sensor (7). The phase sensor contains sensors. Two sensors are used to determine one AF point. The camera analyzes and compares the signals received from the sensors. If the signals do not match, autofocus corrects the focus, and the comparison is made again.
As I said above, the light that is reflected from the auxiliary mirror hits two sensors. For each focus point you see in the viewfinder, there are two tiny phase sensors - one on each side of the lens, as shown in the figure above under point 7. For ease of understanding, the figure is simplified, it shows two separate light beams reaching two separate sensors. In fact, in a modern phase detection device, there are many more than two sensors, and these sensors are located very close to each other. When light reaches these two sensors, if the subject is in focus, the light rays from the edges of the lens converge right at the center of each sensor (as they do on the camera's sensor). Both sensors will have the same images, indicating that the subject is indeed in perfect focus. If the subject is out of focus, the light will converge not in the center, but in other parts of the sensor.
As I mentioned above, the light entering the sensor passes through the lenses and hits the photosensitive sensors. When focus is correct, light from the edges of the lens converges at the very center of each sensor. If the image is the same on both sensors, it means that the focus is correct. If the focus is not correct, the light will converge not in the center, but in other parts of the sensor.
Figures 1-4 show cases where focusing was (1) too close, (2) correct, (3) far, and (4) too far. Focus correction with objective lens is performed as many times as needed to achieve correct focus. The phase focusing system is very fast, so all calculations and corrections take a fraction of a second. When the system has focused, the camera beeps and you can now press the shutter button.
How contrast focusing works
Contrast detection requires your camera to process more data, which means it usually takes longer to focus. This type of focusing is simpler: it does not need a separate sensor with sensors and a system of mirrors, because the camera matrix itself acts as a focusing sensor. The camera electronics analyzes the image received by the matrix and evaluates its contrast at the selected point. If the contrast is not at its maximum, it tries to refocus the lens so that the contrast increases. So the focusing system gradually achieves maximum detail in the image at the selected point. This system works especially well when your subject is stationary or motionless, such as in landscape photography.
What is the focusing system on your camera? Most SLR cameras use a phase detection autofocus system, while digital compacts and smartphones use a contrast autofocus system. There are also mirrorless cameras that are becoming quite popular right now, they have hybrid autofocus.
NIKON D7000+ 105mm f/2.8 FR 105mm, ISO 800, 1/400, f/6.3
Continuous and single autofocus
Another important decision you have to make when using autofocus is choosing a focus mode. The two most important and common options are continuous autofocus and single:
Continuous tracking autofocus also known as AI Servo (Canon) and AF-C (Nikon). Basically, this means that your camera is constantly adjusting the focus while you hold down the shutter button halfway. This is ideal when you are photographing a moving subject.
Single autofocus also known as One-Shot (Canon) and AF-S (Nikon). In this case, once your camera has focused, it will freeze focus until you release the shutter button and try again. This is ideal when your subject and camera are completely still and there is no need to constantly adjust to get the focus right.
Some cameras have a third mode - Auto-Servo Autofocus - which analyzes the scene and automatically chooses between the two.
NIKOND800E+70-200mmf/4 FR 175mm,ISO 100, 1/250,f/4.0
Autofocus modes
A very important part of focusing is choosing the right autofocus mode. This is where you tell your camera what focus strategy you want to apply so that the camera can make the right decisions about which area of the frame your subject is in and how much area to focus on.
Your autofocus system is made up of focus points that correspond to the areas your camera can focus on. For example, here are two types of focus points on Nikon DSLRs:
Focus points Nikon D5000 andNikon D300s
Generally, the more focus points, the better. Firstly, we get a large coverage area, and secondly, it is easier for us to track the moving one. However, you still need to tell your camera how to use these points, otherwise there will be little use from a large number of focus points. This is where autofocus modes come into play:
Single point autofocus: The camera uses only one focus point, which we choose ourselves. This is useful when your camera and subject are not moving and you don't care about motion tracking. This mode can work with continuous autofocus, but does not track fast-moving subjects at multiple points. Remember the most accurate AF point is the center
Dynamic AF: You also select one focus point. But in this case, the camera can track your subject if it moves in the area of the surrounding points (you can usually specify the area that the camera will pay attention to). This mode is suitable for wildlife photography.
Autofocus with 3D tracking: we assign a point, and the camera then decides how many auxiliary ones it needs to track the change in the position of the object in the frame. The advantage of 3D tracking mode is that the camera uses built-in pattern recognition to automatically read colors and follow the subject on its own, and you simply compose the shot as the subject moves.
Point Group AF: The camera uses multiple AF points at the same time, usually five. It gives them all the same priority and focuses on the nearest object located at any of the five points. This is useful for difficult autofocus situations such as flying birds, etc.
Autofocus with auto area selection is when your camera automatically scans the scene and selects an object (often the closest object or face to your camera). We do not recommend this mode as it gives you less control over focus.
*Not all cameras have these options, and some may even have additional modes and zones, especially for video autofocus. The exact names of the modes may also differ depending on your camera model and brand - but this is the general structure of the parameters that are standard.
You will quickly be able to understand which modes and zones are suitable for you in certain situations. However, fully mastering these modes takes time and practice and is not something you can learn overnight.
Dynamic AF area mode
AF-On button
By default, most cameras automatically focus when you press the shutter button halfway. While this is a nice feature, there are times when you need two actions - focusing and taking a photo - to be separate from each other. Most cameras allow you to do this by assigning focus to another button, often referred to as AF-On, and removing it from the shutter button.
AF-On is the same as pressing the shutter button halfway, but in a different location. This may not seem like such a big deal, but there are many situations where you don't want the camera to refocus when you press the shutter button, so AF-On is an important underrated feature.
So when can AF-On help?
If you want to lock focus to take multiple photos. You simply press the AF-On button to focus and then don't press it again until you've taken the burst of photos you want. This is faster than switching the lens to manual focus every time you want to lock autofocus for a series of photos.
If you want to focus and recompose the shot. Let's say you want a composition where your subject is at the edge of the frame. In this case, it is unlikely that the AF points will be on the edge. So, just focus using one of the existing points, for example the most accurate center point, and then recompose the way you want. It's easier with the AF-On button, which you can release after you've focused, versus pressing the shutter button halfway all the time.
If you need to wait a bit before taking a picture. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to focus and then wait a while before taking a picture. For example, maybe you are photographing a fox's lair and waiting for the fox to stick its head out. With the AF-On button, you can focus in the right place and wait, then take the picture as quickly as possible when the moment is right, and still be ready to quickly refocus if necessary.
It is for these reasons in particular that we recommend keeping the AF-On button in service. If you've always used the shutter button for autofocus, this can be a little inconvenient the first few days after switching, but you won't regret it in the end. (Some cameras don't have an AF-On button, but on almost any camera you can set one of the buttons for the same purpose.)
NIKOND800E+105mmf/2.8 FR 105mm,ISO 1400, 1/800,f/2.8
What to focus on
In most cases, you should just focus on your subject. As a general rule, if you are photographing a person, focus on one of their eyes. The same applies to wildlife photography, event photography, and so on. However, often you have a bit of creative freedom when focusing. For example, you are photographing a flower. Should you focus on the nearest petal or the colorful center? Neither option is wrong. It all comes down to what you want to convey in your photo.
Anything that comes out sharp in your photo is where the focus will be, use that to your advantage. If you want, you can focus on an unexpected place to draw attention to a specific part of your photo. For example, take a "portrait" photo in which you focus on the person's hands rather than their eyes, even if your photo shows their face. Photography is subjective, there are no inviolable rules that you must unconditionally abide by. Use a creative, artistic solution.
NIKON D7000+ 105mm f/2.8 FR 105mm, ISO 100, 1/40, f/3.2
Focus Stacking
One technique you may hear about from time to time is called focus stacking. With this method, you take multiple photos that are in focus at different points and then combine the sharpest parts of each photo together. In an ideal world, the resulting image will be absolutely sharp wherever you want it to be.
Focus stacking can be useful for both macro photography and landscape photography, where it can be difficult to get a photo with both the foreground and background sharp enough at the same time. But you will have to shoot from a tripod, as you will need frames taken from one point.
Focus stacking of 11 frames
NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mmf/4S @ 70mm, ISO64, 1/8, f/11
Conclusion
Focusing is a deep topic in photography that is very important to understand. When your photos are properly focused, they will be sharp and detailed where the author intended. Proper focus is important for every genre of photography from sports to landscape photography.
I hope this guide helped you figure out focus. If you have any questions about how to focus correctly, or tips for new photographers, feel free to leave a comment below.
Soft focus.
In this tutorial you will learn how to create a soft focus using a filter (Lens Blur). This filter has been available since Photoshop CS.
When they want to apply a blur effect to a photo, they most often use Gaussian blur(Gaussian Blur). But Gaussian blur doesn't give us much control over the "blur" of the image other than the blur radius. In addition, to achieve a more realistic effect, Gaussian blur makes sense to apply to the layer mask.
Blurring at shallow depth of field gives us an incredible amount of options for creating a motion blur effect. When using this filter, you can determine exactly which parts of the image will be "in focus".
For the lesson, we will use a photo:
Here's what we get:
The focus will be on the woman's face, especially her eyes. This is a rather subtle matter, but once you understand the filter action Blurring at shallow depth of field, you will be able to create all conceivable and unthinkable effects on your photos.
So let's get started!
Step 1. First of all, as always after opening the file, we duplicate the layer.
Click ctrl+J to create a copy of the layer. The new layer is called " Layer 1».
Step 2 In order to determine exactly which areas will be smeared and which will remain sharp when using a filter, create so-called "depth map".
Let's go to channels palette(Channels).
In the channel palette you will see 4 channel thumbnails(as in the layers palette). In fact, there are only 3 channels (red, green, blue), and RGB is a mixture of these channels that make up the image.
We need to add a new channel. Click on the icon to create a new channel.
Photoshop will call it the Alpha channel.
As soon as you create a new channel, your image will turn black. Don't be scared! The black is the alpha channel, not your photo.
The alpha channel is a selection tool, such as the Rectangular Marquee or Lasso.
Step 3 Let's choose Brush from the tool palette:
Select the appropriate brush size, softness. Set the opacity to 50% .
When creating a Depth Map, any areas that remain black in the alpha channel will be completely blurred when using the filter.
White - on the contrary, will remain clear.
And all shades of gray, depending on the intensity of the color, will have a different degree of blurring.
Choosing a soft brush with a small percentage of opacity will allow us to achieve a soft transitional effect, from a sharp image to defocus.
Step 4 Being only in the alpha channel, we do not see our image. This creates some inconvenience in determining the areas where we want to focus.
Let's make all channels visible. To do this, turn on the eye of the RGB "channel".
Now our image has become visible.
Red is the visible alpha channel. Areas covered with red completely (now the whole image) are filled with black in the letter channel. When we start painting with the past, the areas of red color will begin to "erased".
Step 5 Make sure the foreground color is white. Let's focus on the female face.
Decreasing the brush size, select those areas that we want to make clearer (eyes, nose, lips).
We now have our Depth Map on the alpha channel.
Step 6 In the channels palette, turn off our alpha channel and make only three main ones visible (turn on the RGB eye).
Once you're done with the channels, go to the layers palette. Make sure you have a selection Layer 1 on which we will continue to work.
Step 7 Now, using the alpha channel, apply the filter Blur at shallow depth of field/lensBlur.
We go to Filter - Blur - Blur at shallow depth of field. (Filter - Blur - Lens Blur) In the editing window that appears, in the Depth Map source tab, select Alpha 1.
By default, Photoshop blurs the black areas in the alpha channel, so check the box next to " Invert» (Invert).
You can experiment with different settings. Only the blur radius has been changed here:
So what did we get?
Here is the original image:
And here is the end result:
This is how easy it is to create a soft focus effect on a regular photo taken with an inexpensive camera.
Good luck learning Photoshop!
In practice, photos with the effect of soft focus will help to get through a special lens. A picture taken through such a lens at first glance seems not sharp, but in fact it is not sharp, in such a picture, excessive contrast is simply truncated, which can give the image a too hard pattern. Such lenses are used mainly for portrait photography and I will tell you a secret, they cost a lot of money. So I'll show you how to make a controlled soft focus effect with Photoshop.
Here is our experimental photo.
And here is the end result.
STEP 1
Open the photo in Photoshop and see that in the layers palette we have only one locked layer.
Duplicate it by pressing the key combination Ctrl+J. Photoshop will create a copy of the layer background and call her Layer 1/Layer 1.
STEP 2
Apply a Gaussian Blur filter to this new layer, to do this, go to the menu Filter/Filter Further Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur/Gaussian blur.
In the dialog box that opens, set the blur to about 12 pixels.
We press OK and we see such an intermediate result. Everything is too blurry in it, but it does not matter, we are working on.
STEP 3
Now we need to add transparency to this layer. To do this, change the value of the "opacity" parameter to 50-60%, the slider for this parameter is located on the layers palette, see the figure below.
As a result, we have something like this. The lower sharp layer began to look through the translucent, blurry upper layer.
STEP 4
Add a Layer Mask to the top blurry, semi-transparent layer by clicking on the appropriate icon in the Layers Palette.
A white rectangle will appear opposite this layer, this is the Layer Mask.
Set the opacity of this tool to 25% in the options panel (this panel is at the top)
STEP 6
Make sure the foreground and background colors are set to their defaults in the toolbar, black and white, otherwise press the hotkey D. This is important otherwise we won't be able to work properly with the Layer Mask.
STEP 7
Now let's adjust the size of the brush so that it becomes comparable to the size of the faces of the newlyweds, the fastest way to do this is with the keys with square brackets "[" and "]". Now click on the face of the bride and you will see that the details are returned, if this is not enough, click again. Next, do the same with the groom and the bouquet.
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to create focus on individual elements in a photo. Typically, this effect can be taken with a camera. But what if the focus needs to be created on the finished photo? Previewing the final image
Sources
Step 1
Open the photo of the Japanese dish and start our lesson.
Step 2
Now we need to decide what we want to bring into focus. Let this be the dish area. We take the tool Elliptical Marquee Tool and create a selection similar to the one shown in the picture below:
Step 3
Blur the selection borders by 50px with Select > Modify > Feather(or press Ctrl+Alt+D or Shift+F6 depending on the version of Photoshop).
Then we take the tool sharpen tool(Strength: 30%) and a 400px soft round brush to sharpen the selection a bit. This will be the center of focus.
Step 4
Invert selection with Ctrl+Shift+I and apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with the same settings as shown here:
Step 5
We understand that the focus should be gradual, so we need to enlarge the selected area a bit and blur it a little further. Apply Select > Inverse to invert the selection back, and increase it by 100px with Select > Modify > Expand.
Step 6
Now invert the selection again and apply the filter Filter > Blur >Gaussian Blur with the following settings:
Step 7
We are done with creating focus on the photo. And the last effect I would like to add is a gradient from color to black and white. Click Ctrl+J to duplicate the selection on a new layer, and desaturate it with Image > Adjustments > Desaturate(or press Shift+Ctrl+U).
Step 8
We take the tool Eraser Tool and a 300px soft round brush to remove the inside of the top layer with a black and white photo fragment.
