Another Daisy and a Spider

[Greg McCary]

The focus still seems to be a little soft but my wife likes this one. Why is the focus still soft on part of the flower but the spider is fine?

[swmdrayfan]

Just a guess, but was the spider your point of focus?
John

[Don Schaeffer]

You were probably shooting at a very high speed with your lens relatively open (low f-stop number). Your depth of field is extremely narrow so a small miss off the focal plane makes a big difference in focus. Try shooting at a slower shutter speed and narrow your lens to f8 or f11.

[Greg McCary]

Your right about the shutter speed i think I recall it being fast. And yes I focused on the spider, center of daisy. I will try the slower speed next time.

[CLKunst]

Hi Greg,

The slower shutter speed is a compensatory issue to deal with the narrower aperture (F-stop) suggested by Don. By shooting this scene with an aperture of F8 or F11 you would have a greater DOF (depth of focus or depth of field, same thing). This would have left more of your daisy and background in focus. However stopping down also means you have to compensate with a longer shutter speed to still allow the right amount of light in to expose the image properly or the image will come out too dark. If you just use a slower shutter speed you'll end up with an oversexposure. It's all a balancing act.