P#27: A Macro Photo of Dew Drops on a Red Rose Petal
Brenda Tharp explains how this beautiful red rose petal photograph came to be
This shot of a red rose petal looks absolutely breathtaking. How did Brenda Tharp capture such intricate detail. Here she explains how she managed to capture the delicate beauty of her subject in a macro shot.
It All Comes Down to Selective Focus
Brenda Tharp: This photograph of a red rose petal is all about selective focus. It was done using a wide aperture and making just one area of the picture sharp and letting the rest of it fall into sharpness. That's what I did here. (click the image for a larger version)
I was really drawn to the delicate beauty of the drops of water on the red rose petal, so I made sure that one of the bigger drops was in focus and let everything else just go soft around it.
In this particular case, it was a macro lens. I was using the Canon 100mm f2.8 lens, and I shot at f2.8. That meant that what I saw through the lens is exactly what I was going to get.
This type of shot is fun because you can just move in and out slightly and you can put your focus where you want it. You can kind of play with that to make the background softer or less soft depending on how far away it is from the elements that you want sharp.
That's how I did this shot of the red rose petal. Selective focus is just one example of how you can create a more expressive picture.
In Summary
Looking for the perfect illustration of how selective focus can create a beautiful shot? Brenda Tharp's photograph of a dew drop on a red rose petal is a wonderful example of how you can create an expressive picture using this photography technique.
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