Using Focal Points in Photography by Darren Rowse
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Image by H@Ru
Next time you take your digital camera out and line it up for a shot pause before you press the shutter button and ask yourself:
“What is the Focal Point in this Picture?”
Some other ways to ask the same question might include - What is the central point of interest? What will draw the eye of the viewers of this picture? What in this image will make it stand out from others? What is my subject?
The reason a focal point is important is that when you look at an image your eye will generally need a ‘resting place’ or something of interest to really hold it. Without it you’ll find people will simply glance at your shots and then move on to the next one.
Once you’ve identified a point of interest or focal point you then should ask yourself how you can enhance it.
6 Techniques to Enhance the Focal Point in an Image
A focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building, to a mountain, to a flower etc. Obviously the more interesting the focal point the better - but there are other things you can do to enhance it’s power including:

Position - Place it in a prominent position - you might want to start with the rule of thirds for some ideas.
Focus - Learn to use Depth of Field to blur out other aspects in front or behind your focal point.
Blur - If you really want to get tricky you might want to play with slower shutter speeds if your main subject is