Using shallow depth of field and setting your focus point
Since I started Jason Collin Photography back in 2009, I have taught hundreds of people of all levels 1-on-1 photography lessons. In the course of that teaching I repeated some favorite photography advice. Here is one of them:
“Show me something I cannot see by just standing there.”
Another one is:
“A photographer can make something out of nothing.”
In the example photos in this blog post I had my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens on my Sony a7 III full frame mirrorless camera. This lens is my favorite lens for making something out of nothing because the large f/1.4 aperture means I can easily create very shallow DoF (depth of field). Making a photo with a very shallow DoF is one of the easiest ways to make something out of nothing.
Where you set your focus point is key
Take a look at the two pairs of sample photos below. Where I was holding the camera is very similar for each pair of shots. What is different is where I set the focus point. The top photo in each pair has the focus point set just past the foreground, making a majority of the entire photo out of focus, creating bokeh in the background.
In the second photos I set the focus point on the background, making the background in focus, and the photo overall look very different. Even though there is extreme shallow DoF in the foregrounds, the rest of the photo is mostly a normal view (I added shooting at a very, very low angle to add more interest to the photo, further making something out of nothing).
Which do you prefer?
In my eyes, I prefer the top photos with the very shallow DoF throughout the photo with only a very narrow, abstract selection of the photo in focus. Creating that bokeh in the background, as well as the foreground, shows me something I cannot see with my naked eye standing at eye level at the spot on the street. Therefore, I made photographs. Since I am showing a person something they cannot see just by standing there, then maybe these photos will have some interest to the viewer and catch her/his eye.