focus on one item only: How do I make one flower in a bunch in focus and the rest out of focus?

bohleber Loc: southern Indiana

How do I make one flower in a bunch in focus and the rest out of focus?

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Focus stacking at a very small aperture, eg f2.8 or less. That's the best way to have absolute control of DOF in my opinion.

NickGee Loc: Pacific Northwest

Two steps to decreasing the depth of field (which is what you're after): Use the longest focal length you have, then use the widest available aperture on that lens (lowest f-stop). For example, if you have, say, an 85mm or greater lens, use that. Depending on the quality of the lens, you may be able to stop down as far as 2.8; otherwise, likely something like 4.5. That should give you a pretty shallow depth of field.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Consult your camera's user manual for how to select only one active focus point. Place that single AF point specifically on one flower. In general, a wider lens aperture and / or a longer focal length will help 'blow out' the background. If you shoot in Aperture priority, you have direct control over the lens aperture. Finally, say you had a zoom that was 70-300mm, shooting from the 300mm focal length will help.

You might indicate your camera equipment for more specific guides. You might take an example image or few and post the unedited original JPEG files for discussion of your current settings and any applicable ideas to consider.

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jackm1943 wrote:

Focus stacking at a very small aperture, eg f2.8 or less. That's the best way to have absolute control of DOF in my opinion.

Reeeeeeally ?!?!??!?!?!

(Download)

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

??? Focus stacking will work perfectly for what he wants, and it's not that difficult.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

jackm1943 wrote:

??? Focus stacking will work perfectly for what he wants, and it's not that difficult.

Maybe reread the original question… the OP wants the minimum DOF, not the maximum.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

A thin DOF works from front to back. If the flower you mention is in the middle of a bunch you need something to soften the flowers beside it which are on the same focal plane. That can't be done optically with a standard lens, so the only alternative is post processing. Take one shot where the chosen flower is in focus and another shot where everything is out of focus, then overlay the in-focus flower on top of the OOF shot.

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jackm1943 wrote:

??? Focus stacking will work perfectly for what he wants, and it's not that difficult.

Its pretty clear, to some readers, what he wants ... but apparently not clear to all.

Dan' de Bourgogne

bohleber wrote:

How do I make one flower in a bunch in focus and the rest out of focus?

I believe Mr "jackm 1943" is right.
If You want just the flower to be in focus while keeping all the other parts of the image out of focus, the best way seems to open the aperture at its widest setting (= mini DOF) and take several frames from tripod, each of them being shot at a definite focus You have to set at will. This way You can control exactly what is getting sharp and what remains blurry.

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R.G. wrote:

A thin DOF works from front to back. If the flower you mention is in the middle of a bunch you need something to soften the flowers beside it which are on the same focal plane. That can't be done optically with a standard lens, so the only alternative is post processing. Take one shot where the chosen flower is in focus and another shot where everything is out of focus, then overlay the in-focus flower on top of the OOF shot.

With luck that wont be necessary, but if needed then clearly thaz ultimately the most thorough solution.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Dan' de Bourgogne wrote:

I believe Mr "jackm 1943" is right.
If You want just the flower to be in focus while keeping all the other parts of the image out of focus, the best way seems to open the aperture at its widest setting (= mini DOF) and take several frames from tripod, each of them being shot at a definite focus You have to set at will. This way You can control exactly what is getting sharp and what remains blurry.

Thank you Dan, that's exactly what I meant. I use that focus stacking technique a lot. I started out focus stacking to get everything in focus but learned very quickly that it's most useful doing just the opposite. You can control exactly what you want to be in focus and what will not be in focus. Guess I didn't explain it well enough initially.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

TriX wrote:

Maybe reread the original question… the OP wants the minimum DOF, not the maximum.

Focus stack just the one flower and the rest will be out of focus. Very simple provided there's not a lot of movement.

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jackm1943 wrote:

Thank you Dan, that's exactly what I meant. I use that focus stacking technique a lot. I started out focus stacking to get everything in focus but learned very quickly that it's most useful doing just the opposite. You can control exactly what you want to be in focus and what will not be in focus. Guess I didn't explain it well enough initially.

Much clearer now :-)

Acoarst RG's idea is needed if "unwanted" flowers share the focus plane/zone with the featured flower.

Also, your idea of using a small aperture could need rethinking.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

In theory, yes focus stacking would work well. Careful reading of the original post suggests that is wayyyy beyond his capabilities at this time.