Using Focal Points in Photography
Next time you take your digital camera out and line it up for a shot pause before you press the shutter button and ask yourself:
“What is the Focal Point in this Picture?”
Some other ways to ask the same question might include - What is the central point of interest? What will draw the eye of the viewers of this picture? What in this image will make it stand out from others? What is my subject?
The reason a focal point is important is that when you look at an image your eye will generally need a ‘resting place’ or something of interest to really hold it. Without it you’ll find people will simply glance at your shots and then move on to the next one.
Once you’ve identified a point of interest or focal point you then should ask yourself how you can enhance it.
6 Techniques to Enhance the Focal Point in an Image
A focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building, to a mountain, to a flower etc. Obviously the more interesting the focal point the better - but there are other things you can do to enhance it’s power including:
- Position - Place it in a prominent position - you might want to start with the rule of thirds for some ideas.
- Focus - Learn to use Depth of Field to blur out other aspects in front or behind your focal point.
- Blur - If you really want to get tricky you might want to play with slower shutter speeds if your main subject is still and things around it are moving.
- Size - making your focal point large is not the only way to make it prominent - but it definitely can help.
- Color - using contrasting colors can also be a way of setting your point of interest apart from it’s surroundings.
- Shape - similarly contrasting shapes and textures can make a subject stand out - especially patterns that are repeated around a subject.
Keep in mind that a combination of above elements can work well together.
Lastly - don’t confuse the viewer with too many competing focal points which might overwhelm the main focal point. Secondary points of interest can be helpful to lead the eye but too many strong ones will just clutter and confuse.
Tags: Focal Points, Points of Interest
21 Responses to “Using Focal Points in Photography”
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:50 am
Nice tips on using focus to draw the viewers’ eye to what’s most important in the image. One thing that many beginners (and even intermediate level shooters) fail to take advantage of is adjusting the aperture for the optimal range of sharpness between subject and foreground/background. I’ve posted a short video discussing aperture and its relationship to depth of field at http://blogfiftygreatestphotos.com/2009/01/22/understanding-aperture.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Does the rule of thirds apply in the same way if the picture is taken vertically?
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
nice simple tip, sometimes I forget about what I’m focusing on when the scene is busy and everything looks good to me. I’ll definitely keep this in mind.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Brendan . . yes, the rule of thirds still applies . . . albeit it does give you a LOT of extra space, so hopefully, your subject can gain the focus of your user as much as possible
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Rules are made to be broken! :D
Focal point is important, depends on what you photographing. Street photography, for example, less relies on focal point - Although having one won’t hurt the photo of course. :)
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Nice article Darren.
I would also add that when photographing a close up of a person the key thing to focus on is the eyes.
Select a focus point that will give you the composotion you desire without having to move the camera. Allow for fine composition changes later in cropping for print etc. The tighter the compose your image the more the focus point becomes to keep those eyes pin-sharp.
Inner Beauty Photography
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:49 am
This is a great tip, short and sweet. As a newbie to DSLR’s I tend to find myself trying to cram everything into the shot. Then later I look at the pic and it just a scenery shot with no real interest. Being sure to think of the focal point is an easy way to keep my pics more interesting. Now, if I could only figure out what the focal ring in my viewfinder is all about and how I can apply that here. Another lesson for another day.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Great help, just found your blog. will be subscribing to the feed
February 4th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Nice simple post with some good advice.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:09 am
I guess I have always thought of the focal point as the main image and how it should be just in the photo but I’ve never really thought about how I could actually set it apart from everything else. I’m gonna try that, getting a focal point and working around it, instead of working on it
Thanks
Manal
February 5th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Just found this site, I think it’s really helpful. I’ll definitely keep in mind adjusting my aperture and shutter speeds more concerning my focal points. Thanks!
February 5th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Simple ang concise tip Darren. Your tips are useful since im still a newbie in photography. I have another item to put in my tickler. Thanks.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:08 am
My father’s advice to me was always “Before clicking the shutter ask yourself ‘what is it you are taking a picture of’?” This is another way of focusing on the focal point, but it asks it in a broader way. His reference is not necessarily to a physical object though and thus perhaps is a more useful question. The answer can be in terms of light, mood, interaction, etc. Focusing on that question allows you to drop the inessentials from the picture and highlight the essentials.
February 8th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Hi Darren..thanks so much for your help ( tips )
I really appreciate it.
Regards
February 13th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Every time I read your newsletters I am inspired once again to take a more creative approach to my subject. Thank you and keep them coming,
February 17th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Nice tips Mr. Darren. Thankz!
February 24th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Great tutorial. I’m trying to improve my photography skills so I can put them to use on my completed interiors. My portfolio is looking woeful.
Of course, we use focal points in interior design all the time. I seems like a no-brainer to apply it to photography. But I always makes things harder than they should be.
March 10th, 2009 at 1:10 am
Excellent tutorial, really enjoy the tips provided here DPS.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Great Info!!! Sure will be useful for a beginner such as myself. Keep up theexcellent work!
June 17th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hi there, I am new to this site…I consider myself as a beginner. I am also trying to learn (for now) the basic photography. I am glad that I found this site, so helpful and so I’ve been on every night reading articles to learn some techniques on how to improve my photography.
Thank you for this simple tips. This is very helpful to me. For sure, I will apply this to my own good.
Thanks again.
June 25th, 2009 at 5:44 am
WOW I love this site!! I’m a photography student in Florida, Your section on composition happen to be a reading assignment I have spent 4 hours looking around and reading. Fantastic! All I want to do is shoot!
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