The 365 Project: Week 28

Fresh cherry tomatoes and sugar peas from my garden

This week's theme/challenge was about focus.  I love the macro (close up, the little tulip button) setting on my camera so focus is something that is extremely important for me when taking photos.

A little fawn resting in the shade in my backyard

My fluffy Coon, Jasper.  I focused on the light to help darken the image.

Now if you have a fancy dSLR camera, there's lots of different focusing techniques for you to use depending on the circumstances.  I don't have one so I skipped that half of the tutorial.  If you'd like to read it, check out the tutorial on Picaboo.  For the rest of us with point and shoots, focusing is still very important and can be tricky.

Beautiful Red Admiral butterfly on a plant stand on my porch

Freshly watered impatiens

Most cameras focus automatically but you can fake your point and shoot to focus on what you want, not just the center of your screen.  Press your shutter button halfway and you'll probably hear a beep.  Depending on what type of make/model of your camera, a little box should show up on your LCD screen showing you what it's focusing on. You can trick your camera into darkening or brightening your shot.  Want it brighter? Focus on a darker area of your subject and press halfway on your shutter button then move your camera back to your subject.  Want it darker?  Focus on a lighter area of your subject and press halfway.  So long as you're not changing the distance from your subject it should remain a crisp image!

I never knew hens and chicks flowered!  Tiny but gorgeous!

Blueberries ready for picking!  I focused on a darker area to brighten it up.

If you routinely have trouble with unclear images you can try lowering your megapixels (check out your manual on how to do it).  You only need about 5 or 6 megapixels to print a good 4x6 photo.  Sometimes too many megapixels causes noise in the background.  Some brands of point and shoots don't have good sensors for achieving clarity.  I have only owned Canon brand cameras in the more advanced end of the PowerShot series and I personally have never had this issue, but it may be worth a try if you have trouble getting a clear photo!