In optics, a focal point is the point of intersection of parallel light rays that passes through a convex lens or that are reflected from a concave mirror. Similarly, in photography, a focal point can be considered as the place on which all the observers’ eyes will be set when he looks at a photo. 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. A good place to start is at the four hot-spots or along the lines of thirds. 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. During this process, the depth of field is changed. The shallower the DOF is, the blurrier the out of focus objects will be. If you are photographing in a dynamic surroundings, you can make use of the movements around you to achieve a similar effect without messing with DOF. In long exposures, moving objects tend to lose their details while still objects maintain their shapes and forms.
A photograph may have more than one focal point, but be careful as too many may make your photo crowded and will confuse the observer. Therefore, when capturing your next photo, try to think about it from an observer’s point of view.
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