Can Out Of Focus Images Work?

Nobody likes accidentally blurry photos, but can out of focus images work if you take them deliberately? Abstract art and photography are all about pushing the boundaries of your medium to create something new and interesting, and there’s loads of scope for this when you knock your lens out of focus!

So if you’re ready to try something new it’s time to dive in and get blurry!

Setting up your gear for out of focus images

The first step to taking out of focus images is to switch your lens or camera to manual focus. Your autofocus system will refuse to play along and will insist on creating lovely sharp images – usually a good thing, of course!

If you have multiple lenses, it’s best to pick the one with the widest aperture because this will give the best results. A fast prime lens is ideal because it’ll often shoot at f/1.8 or wider and produce beautiful spherical specular light and creamy out of focus areas.

The natural world is an ideal place to start experimenting with this genre because a gentle photowalk offers countless opportunities. We recommend taking your camera out during a variety of different light conditions – perhaps after a storm, at sunrise or sunset, or on a cold, misty morning.

Light is the crucial factor for this method, so watch for how it falls on wet grass, flowers, your local pond or lake, or even cobwebs. Set your lens to manual focus and a wide aperture, set your eye to the viewfinder and start moving the out of focus camera over interesting areas. Can you see how the combination of light, shade and colour creates abstract patterns?

The beauty of this kind of abstract imagery is that there are no failures – the only requirement is that you like the result!

Once you have a handle on the technique you can take it anywhere. Here are a few suggestions that we think you might like:

A busy road at night – it’s even better if it’s raining.

Dig out your Christmas fairy lights and experiment with them.

A roaring fire can produce endless abstract patterns.

A fairground is full of possibilities with so many people and lights.

We love to play around with abstract photography and think that images like these make fantastic canvas prints that are perfect as a classy conversation piece over the fireplace or sofa. So if you decide to give out of focus photography a go, don’t forget to send us your images and we’ll turn them into beautiful works of art for you.