Selective focusing saved the day.
Since so many of my fellow photographers always hand hold their camera, it’s very difficult to stop down to F/22 to get everything in your composition in focus; without having to jack up the ISO. The problem I’m always hearing in my online class with the BPSOP, and also in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet is that inevitably, they always forget to change the ISO back which as you know can lead to more issues.
If I’m walking around with a camera over my shoulder and not knowing what to expect, my go to lens, the lens I almost always have on my camera is a 17-40 35mm Canon lens. I shoot everything from landscapes to portraits with it, and have always loved the len. On of the main reasons is that I can get more in focus at a shallower DOF with a wide angle rather than any other lens that’s longer.
However, there are times when I can’t stop down enough and be able to hand hold. This is important to me as I always want to have complete control, so it’s the reason I’m almost always on a tripod…and very fast with it. That said, I’m occasionally hand holding my camera and come up against a situation where I’m not going to be able to stop down enough (I never jack up my ISO because I will most likely forget to change it back) to get everything I want to be sharp.
So, what do you do? Go the opposite way and use “selective focusing” to get the shot you want…and just maybe it will turn out to be a better idea.
In the shot with the man playing the trumpet, While walking around an outdoor event, I heard the jazz trio and went to investigate. I wanted to take this man’s portrait but I couldn’t get him all sharp while getting “up close and personal” to his trumpet. I decided to shoot wide open and just have the front of the instrument sharp and let everything else be soft. It still says the same thing I was trying to say, and to me it “colors outside the lines”…one of my favorite things to do. BTW, it is a lot easier if you set your focus to manual instead of auto-focus. Auto-focus is a luxury, not a necessity. Just remember to change it back!!!!
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
