This is the second of three blogs about subjects being taught at the Focus on Epcot Photowalk held on Monday, February 9, 2015. Click the link for more information.

Last week, I talked about Hyperfocus where everything in an image is in focus. This week is all about picking out an object and selectively focusing on it leaving everything else out of focus. Selective Focus separates the sharply focused part of an image from a busy background.

Donald Duck statuette on the Hub in the Magic Kingdom.
Nikon D700/24-120VR, 1/1600s, f/4, ISO 400, EV +0.3, 58mm Focal Length.

It is very easy to accomplish this effect. Put the camera in Aperture Priority Mode and open it up to the lens’ widest aperture. In the lens I used on the Donald Duck statue, f/4 is its widest aperture. Notice how the busy background has been completely blurred out and Donald seems to jump right out at you.

This technique is used almost exclusively by wildlife photographers. For us Disney photographers, we can go on the Maharajah Jungle Trek and get photos of the birds in the royal aviary.

Jambu Fruit Dove in the aviary on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 320, EV 0, 300mm Focal Length.

For more about Selective Focus, visit these links:

Photographing a Star in Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Animal Portraits