focus question

Miladymimi · Mar 17, 2011

Do you think it's ever acceptable for the focus to be off, for artistic value? It was irritating when this came out so out of focus, I liked it otherwise, but then it sort of grew on me and I kind of like the blurred colors. For someone who's as far-sighted as me, the world is always a little blurred.

What's your opinion?

KmH · Mar 17, 2011

In general people find a sharply focused photograph more pleasing than one that is out of focus (OOF).

Selective focus using a shallow depth of field (DOF) is a popluar way to separate a subject from the background. Done to an extreme, a mostly OOF photograph becomes an abstract and the breadth of it's appeal is more limited.

Your photograph here is under exposed, the extreme shallow DOF does not separate the flower from the background very well because most of the flower itself is also OOF, and the lighting was very flat contributing to the lack of background separation.

With photography, pleasing yourself is the goal.

Stradawhovious · Mar 17, 2011

The phrase "its supposed to look that way" has turned crap into art for millennia.

Besides, if you like it, its perfect.

Josh66 · Mar 17, 2011

Sometimes focus isn't all that important... Something like this though, I would say it is, for me anyway.

Miladymimi · Mar 17, 2011

lol Thanks for the opinions.

Sometimes, photos are like children, you're not very objective when it comes to your own.

Thanks again.

Stradawhovious · Mar 17, 2011

Miladymimi said:
lol Thanks for the opinions. Sometimes, photos are like children, you're not very objective when it comes to your own. Thanks again.

I want clarify that I wasn't calling your photo crap. As a matter of fact I'm kind of indifferent as far as the focus is concerned. I was merely trying to make a funny.

Reading back on it, my post seems to have come out wrong.

Miladymimi · Mar 17, 2011

Not a problem, Dan, I'm a hoarder when it comes to photos and I'm trying to break the habit and make good decisions as to what to delete and what to keep. This is all a learning process and sometimes you just need a another opinion. When you ask for other's thoughts you can't get your knickers in a twist when they give them. All's good. Thanks for the help.