Photography Focal Points
In common language, the word “focus” usually means the concentration of attention on something. In the world of visual arts, the focal point is the place on the canvas on which the observers’ eyes will focus. In short, it is the point of interest which makes your photograph unique.
A plain photo with no focal points will probably not grab the attention of the observer for a long time even if the composition is great. The reason is that the eyes usually look for something interesting and unique to grab their attention. It may be any object within your photograph, an object that is interesting enough to stand out from the rest of the composition.
The impact of the focal point on your photo can be further enhanced using many techniques. The first thing to take care of is where to place your focal point. According to the Rule of Thirds, it is better to be placed at one of the four intersection points. A different approach is to let other elements, like leading lines, dictate the focal point. In this case the Rule of Thirds can be neglected for a more symmetric composition.
Making an object more significant can be done by having a strong contrast between it and patterns around it. The sudden break of a plain background with an interesting object is very attracting to the eyes. A strong colorful contrast can only improve the effect further. The brightness of the color or the size of the object are sometimes used as well to bring attention to the desired focal point.
Another form of contrast that can be used is that of details. This is achieved by blurring out the foreground to bring the focus on an object in the background, or vice versa. With the whole picture blurred out except for a detailed object, it will naturally grab the attention of the observer. Thus, selective focusing becomes very handy tool to underscore your focal point. The shallower the DOF is, the blurrier the out of focus objects will be. A similar effect can be the result of motion blur. In long exposures, moving objects tend to lose their details while still objects maintain their shapes and forms.
Although you may contain more than one focal point in your composition, too many will just render your photograph confusing. So next time while composing your photo, let your eyes lead you.
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