Focus In Photography: Master the advanced techniques that will change your photography forever

by John Neel

Focus is an often overlooked, but powerful, creative tool and digital photography has made the artistic use of focus accessible to every photographer. In his latest book, John Neel takes you out of your comfort zone into an exploration of advanced focus that will greatly enhance your skill as a photographer, You might think at first that focus is just a technical process, something to ‘get right’ and forget, but the same is often said of exposure and there are many books and even theories of exposure that prove that wrong; the same is true with focus even before the new possibilities of the age are added into the mix. Focus is both an important artistic tool, directing your viewers into and around your image, and a rigid technical challenge.
This book delivers the most in-depth coverage of this fundamental aspect of photography available anywhere, and will be a valuable asset to any student of photography or enthusiast looking to refine their art beyond simply grasping exposure, and essential for commercial photographers (whether they’re shooting for an advertisement, a catalogue, or an eBay listing).

Genres: Photography

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2015

Reviews

[christinemm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been taking photos as a hobbyist for over 30 years starting with film and have been self taught through books. John Neel entered the world of photography through digital and worked for Eastman Kodak where he researched old film photography techniques to see what may be able to be developed for the digital photography world. He stated he enjoyed this so much that he continued learning for his own curiosity.

Neel understands thoroughly the mechanics of the camera and the lenses and he is able to explain these in simple terms so that even a beginner can understand why and how a visual effect occurs, whether it is a desired affect or a problem. He is a clear communicator and I was able to understand his explanations. He keeps brief and the Y is explained in a way that is not boring.

In this book the different types of cameras and their abilities are explained as well as the use of different lenses and adaptations you can do by using accessories or DIY handmade alterations. Some of the best solutions to do some of the coolest affects though art expensive equipment purchases. I found myself looking at prices online while I was reading the book And some of these fun options are beyond my budget.

After going through all the equipment and how you can make these digital images your self, he addresses five different photo editing software programs And explains what bokeh effects are possible with each and exactly what to do to obtain the effect.

Throughout the book there are always discussions of pros and cons or strengths and weaknesses of doing things one way or the other.

The book is filled with full color photographs on every page which are inspiring and beautiful. There are also really great diagrams to explain things which make a lot more sense than just reading text, such as on pages 86–87 the three explanations of using a tilt shift camera versus a normal Camera to try and shoot a tall building without giving the appearance of it leaning while also capturing the full height of the structure in the frame.

I learned a lot by reading this book because Neel explains the how and why — so many other photo books just tell you what to do. I’m the type of learner that likes to know the why, and once I understand that I actually can learn and remember the how. Even if you are more experienced than me and already own expensive cameras, lenses and have done a lot more photo editing then I have you probably will learn something because Neil has used all of this top equipment and experimented and shares what he has learned here. You may get a shortcut or tip they could save you money or time by considering his advice and experience. Rating 5 stars =
Love It.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading, I expected to learn about depth of field and find some tips on achieving the desired level of sharpness in photos. The book offered much more than that. It provided explanations of fundamental principles and the basics of photography. Most of the time, I found the text and illustrations easy to understand.

That said, I would have liked to dive deeper into some of the concepts, such as circles of confusion or the Scheimpflug principle, as I felt it only scratched the surface and I am not sure I fully understood them. I found the chapters on panoramas and focus stacking especially inspiring.

Since the book was published almost 10 years ago, some of the gear and especially the software it references may now be outdated, and there are probably better options available today. Still, the concepts remain highly relevant. Overall, I found it a very inspiring read, and it gave me plenty of ideas to try different things in my photography—like panoramas, focus stacking, or even camera obscura—and to start experimenting more actively.

[Dominic Sagar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is interesting and gets you thinking about focus in some different ways. This is not a book about composition which is probably what I was really looking for. That is, what should I focus on, where in the scene should I focus, etc? This is more about different focus concepts.

[Matthew Sarookanian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information is sparse and complicated I found. His examples didn't really help clarify what he was trying to show, and most of the ideas has little substance and too much technical know-how. It was a boring read and difficult to get through, with learning very little in the time.