My camera (A Canon Rebel XT) can be set so it focuses on one particular thing. Once focused, everything else is blurry (This setting is called “portrait” sometimes). You can also set it so everything is a focal point.

For me, photography is a lot more interesting with less focal points. So I keep it on 1.

Sometimes, you may want to photograph something that doesn’t always want to be in focus… or you may want to create a more dramatic focal point than just shooting straight onto subjects or objects.

There is a way you can do this without reverting back to A-Dep (auto depth of field) option.

For example, this photo…

When I took this I wanted my son in focus… but I didn’t want his friend Anna in focus (no offense to her, hehe). When I first tried to focus in the camera wanted to make Anna in focus as well as Caleb. They were just close enough to each other that Caleb wasn’t the only focal.

What I did was:

• I focused on Caleb (pushing the shutter down half way) with him in the center (Anna was almost out of the picture when I did this)…
• Then angled the camera so you could see Anna as well.
• When I moved the camera I made sure that I didn’t move back or change the distance between myself and Caleb. Had I done this it would have made Caleb blurry as well.

Try it a few times…
Focus in on something, move the camera angle slightly… and you have a totally different photo.. it’s fun to play around with this concept. It can make an ordinary shot look a lot more artsy and unique.


Posted by Drea – Panamerican 25 yr. old, Mother of 2 boys, Aspiring Photographer and Pastors Wife. I am told that I “Live in a Fish Bowl.” I want more than anything to be transparent and honest… and welcome the world into “our bowl.”