GIVE US YOUR SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK ABOUT THE SITE
We will send you an E-mail every time there is a new article in your favorite section. Sign-Up For ALERTS.

World Photo

Get Focused by Shooting Out of Focus by Mary McGrath Not every blurry photo you take needs to be deleted.  Blur, whether intentional or not, can be a wonderful compositional tool. Article rating: 8.79

So, you've taken that great shot, only to find that once you get back to your computer, the image is out of focus. Time to discard the file?  Not so fast…

Not all photos have to be in focus to be good. Sometimes you may want to deliberately shoot with a bit of blur to accentuate your perspective, or use blur filters to add dimension to your images.

Many images I’ve taken have been far from the vision I had originally intended, but that’s not a reason to simply discard the file.  Sometimes images lend themselves to a bit of artistic interpretation, simply because they bend the rules of photography.

This shot was part of a series of night shots I took in Las Vegas. When I was looking up the boulevard toward the Eiffel Tower, I was amazed at the symphony of lights before me. Rather than try to steady my camera in this low-light situation, I thought the shot might be interesting if I simply shot it out of focus. I didn’t have a tripod, so I knew there would probably be some camera shake anyway, and I didn’t want to try a really long exposure.  This image was selected to be part of a gallery exhibit in Los Angeles, simply because it was different and illustrated another interpretation of this bustling city.

This is another shot of the same street scene, where I focused on the round lights on the boulevard to give this view another perspective. You too can try this by simply getting out of your comfort zone and shooting a scene in a different way than you intended. Art is often about breaking the rules.

Sometimes macro shots can come out well with a bit of blur. I wasn’t initially thrilled with this tulip shot, but the soft focus was well received.

Recently, I was taking a helicopter ride above Los Angeles through Moments Made. Even in these challenging circumstances, you can rectify images that aren’t entirely sharp.

Sometimes employing filters can yield some interesting results to images that aren’t crystal clear. Crop your images and see what happens.

This aerial shot of the Santa Monica Pier was cropped and I added some filters to make it more of an illustration. The initial image had quite a bit of camera shake.

Even with just a bit of sharpening, you can rescue an average photo.

Aerial photography at night can be a real challenge. I was certain that these images were a wash, but one of my editors really enjoyed this shot, so I titled it “Earthquake Hits Los Angeles.” Not a pleasant thought, but the title seemed to fit the image.

I’m not sure how this ghostly image of the Switzerland swans materialized, but I decided to keep the file anyway. A new interpretation of “Swan Lake?”

This flying heron was out of focus, so I added some filters to render it as more of an illustration,

Even an out of focus storm shot can be interesting, creating a new perspective on the huts in Bora Bora.

© 2007 Mary McGrath

While on the train to Lugano, Switzlerand, I chanced upon these kids who enjoyed mugging for the camera. I used some filters to accentuate their movement.

When I was trying to find my father’s gravesite in Canton, Mississippi, I chanced upon this family of 11. I quickly took the shot, which ended up a bit blurry, so I altered it to look a bit like a painting.

So, when in doubt, don’t throw it out. Some of the best images are discovered by breaking the rules in photography. Even an average image can sometimes be revived by cropping, accentuating the blur, or utilizing elements in the image you may have wanted to discard, resulting in many new images for your portfolio.

Mary McGrath is a freelance writer and photographer whose work has appeared in Newsweek, Rangefinder, Shutterbug, Good Housekeeping and many other publications. She can be reached through her web site at: www.marymcgrathphotography.com

^ Back to top

	Great and informative article! Reminds me to be very picky on what I discard. Posted by: Dan Emmert Aug 23, 2007 @ 3:21 PM EST
	I like what you recomment about burrs. I've done it too. I thought people might think it strange but I kept some of mine. I also like your tips. Posted by: Vince Lawrence Aug 23, 2007 @ 7:36 PM EST
	I liked this article because it's content and especialy because it's about the type of thing I've been doing more recently (started by chance), and this shows I'm not alone, despite some fellows at the camera club tell me I should stop doing that. Unfortunatly, for a competition, judges might not be that much "open-minded" people. Posted by: Isabel Aug 24, 2007 @ 1:21 AM EST
	I'm all about bending the rules, so I truly appreciated the an article encouraging - shooting outside the box! I also enjoyed the pics, especially having recently done some unintentional followed by deliberate rule bending shots & loving what I got! Posted by: Tammy Aug 25, 2007 @ 1:45 PM EST
	fentastic Posted by: martin Nov 21, 2007 @ 9:29 AM EST

* Your Name:
* Email address:
	(Enter the code shown)
	(Your e-mail address will not show on the site and is used so that we can contact you back if needed)
* Your Comment about this article::
	Include me in the TGP Monthly Newsletter