The focal point of any image typically draws the eyes to where they are supposed to go. Sometimes, a striking force of color is the tool to accomplish this. At other times, maybe it is an action shot of a professional athlete scoring a goal, a superhero slugging their nemesis, or a solider taking aim at a target. Delicious food items are always the center of attention on a menu or a placemat at your favorite commercial restaurant. Getting the viewer to look at what you want them to look at is the name of the game – where eyes are directed to a very specific locale on a photograph or design is a key strategy. For this assignment, we will explore the art of taking photographs where using out-of-focus shooting and post-processing blurring strategies.

The three main areas of focus (see what i did there?) when taking photographs is Aperture, ISO, and Shutter Speed. And, the name of the game is "balance" (unless you're intentionally going for imbalance - some people refer to this as "style").

Our four main areas of concentration for this section will be:

• Maintain Focus (Depth of Field)
• In the Heat of the Moment (Stopping time with crisp, clear images)
• Life is a Blur Sometimes (The inverse capturing of time - the world in motion)

Full Disclosure

I do not claim ownership of the content provided here as it is extracted from BeachCameraBlog.com. The authors of BeachCameraBlog.com have rendered this original content and their material has been cited in the various sub-sections on this page. I wish I could say I wrote it all. But, the truth of the matter is that they actually know what they’re doing, have been doing it far longer than I have, are probably experts at what they’re doing, and can present it in a thorough, concise, well-organized and understandable manner.

Exposure Triangle (The Balancing Act)

The concept is simple: 

Here is a great video (YouTube) on how to manipulate your Manual Settings on your camera (Nikon D3300)

Here is another great video (YouTube) on the differences between camera lenses

The aperture is the hole at the center of your camera’s shutter or iris. If you’re aiming for professional blurred background or the artistic Bokeh, it helps to set your aperture (also known as f-stop) and can basically be thought of as a means of adjusting the amount of your picture that is in focus.

The lower the f number, the more light reaches your sensor, and the more of your background is blurred. The higher the f number, the greater the field of focus and the more of your picture will be in focus. In other words, low f-number gives more light with a blurrier background; high f-number gives less light and a sharper background. 

Your shutter speed can be thought of as the amount of time your camera’s shutter is open allowing light to hit your camera’s light sensor (like a "blink"). Typically denoted as a fraction of a second (e.g. 1/125), your shutter speed will have an effect on the sharpness of your subject. Lower shutter speeds let in more light, but make your image susceptible to blur and requires a steady hand or tripod. Faster shutter speeds let in less light, but can give you a sharper subject and an image less susceptible to unsteady hands.

ISO can be thought of as your camera’s sensitivity to light, with typical ranges on DSLR’s today being 200-1600. The lower the ISO number, the more light is required to get a good exposure on your photographs and the less noise you will see in your resulting images. Higher ISO numbers allow you to shoot better quality photos in lower light conditions, but the more noise you may see in the background of your images. DSLR’s can producer better quality images at higher ISOs because of the larger size of the pixels in their image sensors. They also often feature noise reduction to further assist in maintaining quality at higher ISO numbers.  As a general guideline, shooting outside under the sun, ISO 100-200 is a safe bet, but if you’re shooting indoors under low lighting you want to be in the ISO 800-1600 range.

• Exposure is controlled in a photograph by the camera's aperture, shutter speed, and the ISO of the film or digital sensor—the Exposure Triangle.
• Aperture is the size of the opening of the lens. The larger the opening, the more light gets through. The smaller the opening, the less light gets through. Aperture also controls depth of field and shutter speed can freeze or blur action. ISO creates film grain or digital noise when increased.
• Shutter speed is a measurement of how long the shutter is open, allowing light to get to the film or sensor. The longer it is open, the more light reaches the film or sensor. The shorter the duration of time it is open, the less light reaches the film or sensor.
• ISO is a measure of the sensitivity of the film or digital sensor to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the surface is to light. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive.
• All three of these controls are adjusted individually or in unison, to manage the brightness and capture of an image.

You will take ten photos of the same object(s) using these settings

In your folder titled "A Focused Lens," create two new folders and title them "Part 1 - Garners Settings," and "Part 2 - My Settings." 

• LOOK AT THIS EXAMPLE OF HOW YOUR PHOTOS SHOULD LOOK
• For Part 1: Find (or build) something to focus your camera's attention on. 
  • Make sure the camera is stable and stationary - do not move it around or pick it up - the whole point is so that you can grab ten photos of the exact same image
  • Choose a well-balanced lit area - NOT a dark closet or staring straight into the sun (which you shouldn't be doing anyways)
  • Make sure your objects are "in focus." 

The White Balance options on the Nikon camera are as follows: Please note that my camera has a White Balance called "Tungsten." You will substitute "Tungsten" (on the chart) with "Incandescent" on your camera.

After your files are uploaded to your folder, rename them so that your first image is titled "Photo 1." Your second phote will be labeled "Photo 2", and so on so that all photes are renamed 

• For Part 2: Find (or build) something (different than before) to focus your camera's attention on. You will take ten photos of the same object(s) using your own settings - make your own adjustments as you will - do not simply duplicate what you did for Part 1. The recorded information that you completed for this sheet, you will turn this into the instructor - your recorded ISO, Shutter Speed, and F-Stop numbers will be matched with the photographs in Adobe Bridge.
  
  
• Open this file and print a copy of it. This will act as your record keeping sheet for this assignment
  
  
• Set your camera to any settings you so desire. However, you must record them on a blank sheet titled "Introduction to Shooting"
  
  
• When you are done shooting your photographs, you will need to upload them into Part 2 folder. 
  
  
• All Photos must be renamed from their original "camera assigned" name. For instance, I do not want to see images titled "_DSC0010"
  
  
  
  
• Assessing your photograph's expsoure: Open this Photograph Exposure form PDF and print it out on Tabloid paper. Or, ask your instructor for a hard copy. You will open each of your Part 2 photographs in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Bridge and analyze the file info which will detail your images exposure settings.
  
  
• Next to each Exposure Triangle, be sure to list which photo it is in reference to.
  
  
• Hand this back in to your instructor when it is completed.