Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Phosari Fall Photography, Fall Color Depth of Field

Fall color tree w Moon Post top shot_1034Fall color tree w Moon Post top shotcompressed

THE RIGHT LIGHT FOR FALL PHOTOGRAPHY 

With the fall color peak recently passed, there are still many great opportunities this time of year to capture interesting images.DSCN7342_974DSCN7342compressed  I like to use the “Golden Hour” of photography, as it is commonly DSCN7353_979DSCN7353compressedreferred to, or that time of twilight just as the sun is setting or rising. This is a time of soft and somewhat diffused light, provided courtesy of our atmosphere and the earths curvature.  With the proper white balance setting and a good meter reading, I like the look I get as I adjust the exposure and shutter speed to what suits my eye. I will often focus on one subject, then move the composition slightly for a better or more interesting background.  This will highlight the subject nicely, and if I metered the subject correctlyFall color tree w Moon close_1032Fall color tree w Moon closecompressed, or off metered for a darker or lighter exposure, one can achieve the results as envisioned in the minds eye.

DOF; A TOOL FOR PHOTOGRAPHY 

Combining one of oldest photography techniques with the newest DSCN6262_682DSCN6262compressedtechnology available in photography, as well as videography or filmmaking, is the use of DSLR cameras with HD video capability.  With the use of short or long focal length lenses, interesting effects and be achieved naturally.  One of my favorites is the use of DOF, or Depth of Field effects.

Scenes composed with longer lenses, or DSCN7494_1053DSCN7494compressed“zoomed in” create as smaller depth of field.  This causes the centerpiece or primary subject of the photo to be in focus, while the background and/or foreground are slightly out of focus, thus drawing the eye to the subject and created a more interesting image.  One sees this in many a cinema movies, and documentaries.  Try it out and if you have any questions, thoughts,  or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

NOTE; If you would like to download this video, get an SD (what I call HD light) version in Quicktime H.264 (23MB), click here.  I may offer an HD version download option in both Windows and QuickTime formats in the future if there is a demand.