Where should I focus?

[irtpop]

I just begin to learn taking photos.
This week assignment, trees. Where should I focus? Thanks.

[Tito87]

Hyperfocal Distance and Depth of Field Calculator - DOFMaster

[milosh]

Originally Posted by irtpop

I just begin to learn taking photos.
This week assignment, trees. Where should I focus? Thanks.

The question where to focus comes to mind before taking each photograph, even when you get more experienced. The answer depends on many factors, such as what is your subject, what are you trying to show, what light conditions do you have, etc. Since focus can be used to point a viewer to a certain part of the photograph, the main question you should ask yourself is what part of the scene is the main subject (you want your subject to be in focus), and how much in-focus area do you want. For example, you might choose to blur the background in a portrait shot, or you might opt for a large depth of field in a landscape photo. In the example you posted, because you have several subjects which are equally interesting, this question comes down to personal preference. I personally more often like to see the foreground in focus and background out of focus, than the other way around, which means that I like your second image better. One more point about your photo, there is a large portion of the foreground tree which is blown out (overexposed). You should watch out for those areas and try to compensate while shooting. Hope this helps a bit.

[irtpop]

Thanks. I didn't think about DOF before.