Project Focus: Exercise 2: Focus with a set aperture.

This exercise is one of the first I completed and was undertaken using the Canon Eos 400d that I owned at the time.  This was an introduction to me in using and understanding Aperture.  From what I read and understand if I can eventually master Aperture I will become more creative - we will see. 
The object of this exercise is to understand and look at focus, using the manual focusing option on my camera and fixed Aperture,  and not to depend on auto focus which is an option on many cameras today.  The lens Aperture to be set on its widest setting - at its lowest f stop number.  Aperture is - the size of the opening in the lens when picture is taken.


I decided for this exercise to work indoors and try to photograph a series of photographs of 5 Kinder Eggs plus 1 Kinder egg figure which I placed towards end of diagonal line on a large table with coloured card as covering on table to eliminate glare. Each egg and the figure were spaced evenly apart.  The lighting was natural from the french window to my right.
My first  photographs were of the row including the toy, and I was very disappointed, as I felt that the figure distracts the eye and to me it did not matter where I focused, my eye was always drawn to the toy and not the egg I had focused on. 

Below I have shown four examples of set aperture of f5.6 with figure, where I consider the figure to be drawing away the eye from the focal point. 
The following sequence of photographs were taken, using:

• F5.6
• ISO 100
• No Flash
• Aperture Priority
• 300mm lens

fig 1               f 5.6                    focus on figure     

fig 2              f5.6            focus on 4th egg from front     

fig 3                   f5.6          focus on last egg in row         

fig 4                    f5.6                  focus on first egg,          

  This is the photograph where I consider the figure to be less disruptive to the eye, but feel that I should have moved position to ensure that the first egg was fully captured,  not just part of the egg. 

As I felt that the figure was a distraction I removed it and tried the exercise again, still using a shallow depth of field, and an f stop of f4.5, the largest aperture on my lens.  The results are below, using same settings as above, except for f-stop.

fig 5      focal point being third egg, 

everything in front of and behind, rendered out of focus 

 fig 6                 focal point 2nd egg, 

again rendering everything else out of focus

fig 7    focal point 4th egg,

 all in foreground out of focus

fig 8            Focal point first egg, 

all behind rendered out of focus and fuzzy.

For me, the photographs above without the figure show in a much clearer way that sharp focus draws attention to the eye.  In each of the four photographs above I have achieved a sharp subject which stands out clearly against the out of focus surroundings.  I prefer fig 5, the first photograph of this attempt where I have clearly achieved focus on the third egg.

My thoughts on this exercise

I am happy that I chose to do this again without the 'foreign object' which was a distraction to me. 

A shallow depth of field means only a small part of my images were in focus, the rest being out of focus, even though there was only a few centimetres between each egg, some were out of focus.  This was because of the very shallow depth of field and the largest aperture possible of f4.5