Subtle Differences in Focus.2
A couple of days ago I shared three pictures of a European Stonechat, It was breezy that day so the bird would wave back and forth as it perched up on a branch – I took several pictures of it sitting there just to be sure I got at least one good pic. I invited you to take a careful look at each and determine which one had the best focus. Here are the pictures again, with explanations:
Shot 1 – Nothing really in focus. The bird is fuzzy, but so are the seed heads showing along the bottom. This was probably not a focus issue as much as a camera movement problem. We know from the other pictures that the camera attained focus in the vicinity and yet nothing in this picture’s field of view is in focus; it’s likely that I didn’t hold the camera still. This can easily happen on a breezy day when handholding a camera with a long lens.
Shot 2 – Bird is in focus. Note the seed heads below and to the left of the bird and see that they are not in focus, so the camera attained focus on the bird. The head isn’t as sharp as the breast so it could have been moving its head.
Shot 3 – Bird out of focus, seed heads in focus. The bird is definitely out of focus but if you look carefully at the seed heads just below its breast you’ll see that it is in focus. The camera must have attained focus on the seed head as I took the picture – I was aiming my focus point too low. Be sure to recheck your focus point, particularly on a breezy day when the bird is moving back and forth.
Did you figure it out? Congratulations!
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