James Eldridge Photography

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Who needs sharp focus?

What seems like a lifetime ago, I had the lovely Dannii come to my studio for a day of shooting. We just used the day to try a few different styles and techniques and just had a great time getting to know each other a little better. 

Dannii is a person who I have worked with a few times now, and I was always got great images from our times together. A top model who knows her stuff and ends up teaching me new and exciting things to do with the modelling world every time.

For a long time now, I have been a stuck in the same mind set of that all my images must be pin sharp and the focusing must always be in the right place. Well after experimenting with several different styles and camera \ lens set ups, I started to discover that out of focus shots can be an even better image then one that was in perfect focus. 

I now on most shoots, purposely shoot with this technique in mind. I use a Lensbaby composer lens to create this blurry and out of focus type of image. 

You can create some interesting and beautiful images with this lens and they can still be pin sharp in the area that you want them to be. I tend to just set a rough area of focus and then let my subject just do what they do and I just press the button to capture the magic as it unfolds. 

I work with the mind set now that I don't worry about everything being so perfect all the time. Just go with the flow and see what interesting images you can make. When you stop caring about the rules your creativity will produces better results.