Composition: Part IV Isolating the Subject

Jul 1, 2001 - © Wendy Folse

Patterns are often used as framing devices to help contain the subject within the photo. Look around you and see what elements are present that may lend themselves to this technique. In the picture here, the iron mesh of the gates serve as a frame.

Depth of field can also be used as a framing device to isolate the subject. Using a very shallow depth of field can blur the background creating a frame that surrounds the subject.

Another consideration is the eventual framing of the photo itself. Be careful not to place parts of the composition so close to the edge of the viewfinder that they will be cutoff either during printing or when matting and framing.

Selective focus

This technique relies on the creative use of depth of field and a large aperture to direct the emphasis on the subject by deliberately placing surrounding elements out of focus. Sometimes the foreground maybe placed out of focus in order to frame a distant subject. Often the background will be placed out of focus in order to emphasize a foreground element. The idea is to use what is in-focus and what is out of focus as a tool for isolating the subject. Again with this technique as with others, it is limited only by the photographer's imagination and creativity.

In order to use selective focus effectively you must first learn to understand depth of field and how to control it. In a future article we will be covering depth of field to a greater extent. For now, it helps to gain a basis for what it is and what it does.

Depth of Field

The term is used to describe the amount of distance in a photograph that is in sharp focus. Sometimes it is easier to think of depth of field as an imaginary plane that crosses the "field" of the photo from front to back. The further back or depth of the plane, than the more that will be in focus. The size of the aperture controls the depth of field. At very small apertures such as f/22, the plane covers all subjects and all are in sharp focus. When we use a very large aperture such as f/2, then there is a very limited depth of field and only the exact focusing point maybe sharp while everything else is blurry.

When working with very large apertures it becomes critical to pick out a

The copyright of the article Composition: Part IV Isolating the Subject in Photography is owned by Wendy Folse. Permission to republish Composition: Part IV Isolating the Subject in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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