310 THE HASSELBLAD MANUAL
is enhanced not only by opening the aperture but also with longer focal length lenses. If you
want to keep backgrounds reasonably sharp, use a shorter focal length; if you want to blur
backgrounds more, change to a telephoto. Everything that has been discussed about back-
ground sharpness also applies to foreground subjects, which can often visually enhance an
image by adding a touch of color to a photograph (Figure 16-14).
Figure 16-14 Background and foreground sharpness. A 120 mm lens at the maximum lens
aperture blurred the background suffi ciently to be undistracting but still recognizable to
establish the location. Exposure based on the background area. Fill fl ash left). The completely
blurred leaves in the foreground added a touch of color to this scene and created a nice
contrast to the blue color on the water surface in the background (right). (Photos by Ernst
Wildi.)
CREATIVE USE OF THE LENS APERTURE
Before you press the release, you must decide whether everything from foreground to back-
ground should be sharp or whether one or both should be blurred, and if so how much
(Figures 16-15 and 16-16).
Our eyes focus constantly and instantly so we see everything sharp. To present the scene
or subject as seen with your eyes, try to have sharpness from foreground to background.
A maximum range of sharpness is usually necessary with subjects that we are accustomed to
see sharp such as buildings, room interiors, product displays, and food illustrations. Generally,
subjects with sharp outlines such as fences, rocks, and railings look best when they are sharp,
especially when they are in the foreground.
Limiting the range of sharpness lets us create images that look different from the way we
see the world and create images as only the camera can. By narrowing the plane of focus to
a specifi c subject, or specifi c subject area, you create a strong attention-creating element,
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