I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean.. Did he also tell you about shallow depth of field?
Maybe it's a bad picture, but it's focused where I want it to be.

The guitar looks perfectly clean in any non-macro picture.
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alQahira

United States511 Posts

May 09 2012 12:40 GMT

Your photography teacher is an idiot. however, what he was probably trying to say was that when there are things both in the foreground and background that are out of focus, we tend to process it weirdly. Generally, when doing shallow depth of field photography the most effective images have a sharp subject, and then out of focus background.

Good luck with the experimentation!

Doctorasul

Romania1145 Posts

May 09 2012 12:47 GMT

On May 09 2012 21:40 alQahira wrote:
Your photography teacher is an idiot. however, what he was probably trying to say was that when there are things both in the foreground and background that are out of focus, we tend to process it weirdly. Generally, when doing shallow depth of field photography the most effective images have a sharp subject, and then out of focus background.

Good luck with the experimentation!

Thanks! So do you think this image is more compelling?

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KalWarkov

Germany4126 Posts

May 09 2012 14:36 GMT

im not an expert on this subject at all, but i like your 2nd try a lot more. i think alQahira was completly right

mrGRAPE

Singapore293 Posts

May 09 2012 14:59 GMT

I like your first photo the way it is. The emphasis on that particular part of the bridge is pretty awesome.

SadSatyr

United States77 Posts

May 09 2012 17:53 GMT

As just a regular joe looking at the photos the second attempt draws my attention to the string better. The first image my eyes were dancing around a bit. Great shots though. Keep experimenting and trying new stuff.

Also, keep in mind why you are shooting. You should be happy with your work, so if you prefer the first picture keep doing shots like that. None of us matter unless we are going to buy your work. :-D

Venus.exe

United States285 Posts

May 09 2012 18:32 GMT

On May 09 2012 21:14 Th1rdEye wrote:
My photography teacher taught me that anything out of focus is a bad picture

On a side note your friend should clean his guitar more often

His photo is not out of focus. I'm not an expert on this but I believe he's using lower f-stop to create shallow depth of field to focus on things that are closer ranged. Macro lenses create this kind of effect. And as a digital media major, I've learned you don't trust your professor's opinions on what looks "good" or "bad". Just treat them as guidance. Otherwise, you'll never get your project finished.

Great photo btw. What exactly is an inverted lens?

Cycle

United States300 Posts

May 09 2012 18:34 GMT

#10

Your first original photo is stellar. Call it "bridge" and you're good to go.

Mr. Wiggles

Canada5894 Posts

May 09 2012 20:29 GMT

#11

I like the first photo a lot more, and I'm not sure why people would consider it odd. For example, right now, I can look over my laptop lid, and focus on something 5 feet away. The lid and screen of my laptop are unfocused, and so is the background behind what I'm looking at. That's the same effect as the first picture. It's just focusing on something beyond something, and in front of something else. Maybe I'd like the second photo more if you didn't include part of the body/fretboard, whatever that brown section is.

I'm not too experienced in photography, but personally I think the first photo looks better. Also on a personal note, I'd just go for what you like, and not worry too much about any 'rules' so long as you're satisfied with your own work. :p

Doctorasul

Romania1145 Posts

May 09 2012 21:14 GMT

#12

Thanks for the comments! Feedback is always good.

What exactly is an inverted lens?

It's a cheap way of taking macro shots. You take a "normal" lens and mount it on the camera the other way around, using an adapter. The wider the lens is normally, the more it will magnify when inverted. The quality of the shots is lower than using a proper macro lens and you cut off all of the camera's controls of the lens, but the magnification is good. Some use a series of lens with one of them inverted for even greater magnification.

All three pictures above are taken with the same 35mm lens, but the lens is mounted the right way round only in the second picture.