Pictures lacking depth...

7/4/2012

Exhibits in LACMA...

I read a great article in TOP (The Online Photogapher) website the other day: "In Defense of Depth". The author, John Kennerdell, challenges the readers to take pictures with deeper focus that demands greater composition and timing. He ends the article with: "Just don't be surprised if some day you look back on all that shallow-focus work and find yourself wishing you'd paid more attention to the third dimension. And don't ask me whose old photos I was looking at when I first began to realize that for myself."

Nowadays, especially with beginners like me, we love the shallow depth of field (DOF) and wild bokehs because it's "new" to us. We can't see bokehs with our eyes, and the shallow DOF is something we simply couldn't achieve with our point-and-shoot camera. So, we flock to it, admire it, inspired by it, and shoot a bunch of photographs with hardly anything in focus.

Perhaps, now is the time, having been there and done that, I need to start reminding myself to give things the "proper" focus. It doesn't mean that shallow DOF is bad, but apply it not because I can, but because it's my creative vision to do so. I shall challenge myself to incorporate the background more, to use the background as part of the story I'm telling, and to create an image with many different layers.

I'll include a few shots from my recent visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and you can see the full set [HERE].

4 Comments

Daryl

7/7/2012 09:31:33 am

I am starting to hear a backlash against shallow depth of field. Some photographers saying it is right up there with the plague and should be abolished. Shallow focus is one of many available techniques and to demonize it doesn't contribute to photography but rather limits it. I am not sure of the intentions of those that profess a "my way is better" especially when it involves art. There are other ways to control backgrounds, wide angle lenses diminish the size of background elements while telephotos reduce the number of elements and increase their size, both are creative means to alter what is often ignored in the process of photography, i.e. backgrounds and is one of the most important elements that can ruin a photograph or make a photograph great. Personally, I find shallow focus rather beautiful, it's execution not always easy and the reuslts not always predictable. With a good lens and cooperative subject there can be a lot of originality by shooting contrary to what one thinks might be photographically pleasing such as the focus point being on the edge of the photograph rather than in the middle third or ever so slightly darkened to make the viewer strain to see whats there. Photography is creative when we break the rules, when we adhere to the rules, when we expose correctly, when we expose incorrectly, when we...... what makes it so much fun is the artistic beauty that can be made with our photographs when we have all the tools available and we execute them well.

Daryl

7/7/2012 09:35:32 am

David, just to follow up on my last post, the photo of the out of focus rail is superb, the most interesting, maybe it's just my preference but it shows you have an excellent eye. I've enjoyed my brief perusal through your website and will explore it more as time allows.

David Young link

7/7/2012 11:45:13 am

Hi Daryl, thank you very much for visiting and your very insightful comment. I agree with you whole-heartedly. I still love the shallow DOF photos, but I think the article at TOP made me recognize that I'm often forgetting about the other aperture range. I now think that by "DOF control" it means I should use it at all ranges to really achieve the look I'm going for, instead of just blindly leaving it at the widest setting. I hope you do come back and freely give any advice as I'm a constant learner :)

Daryl

7/7/2012 12:17:06 pm

Hi David,
I didn't intend to be so opinionated as the first post reads. And I am not so sure my advise would benefit you greatly as I think you have an excellent eye. The picture at the LA Museum of the lamp posts is superb. I recently drove past the museum, my thought was to return in order to photograph the posts but I could not think of any creative angle, lighting etc. So, I am learning from you, and if there is any advice I could give it is to study photographs that catch your eye, evaluate the qualities that draw you to them, and shoot shoot shoot. We are lucky that digital gives us the freedom to shoot, recompose, change settings, evaluate on the spot to see what works and what doesn't. Maybe someday we'll run into each other shooting our M9's.

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