Creating images with high market value is not just about photographic techniques or artistic skills, but also about how you determine the right focus. In the world of visual arts, whether it’s photography, illustration, or digital art, setting the right focus plays a key role in capturing attention and conveying a message to the audience. If you want your visual works to have marketable value, here are some important steps and considerations for determining the right focus.
- Understand Your Audience
The first step in determining focus is understanding who your audience is. Are you targeting commercial buyers, individuals, or a specific community? For example:
Commercial buyers may be looking for images with a strong, clear concept that can be used for advertising, magazines, or product designs.
Individual buyers may be more interested in images with emotional, aesthetic, or personal storytelling focus.
By understanding what your audience is looking for, you can adjust the focus elements in your work to better attract their attention.
- Use Sharpness and Depth of Field
In both photography and illustration, depth of field is a technique that allows you to control how much of the foreground or background remains in focus or blurred. Using selective focus with depth of field can make the main subject stand out, drawing the viewer’s attention to the elements you want to emphasize.
Keep the main subject in sharp focus: Ensure that key elements like faces, products, or the item being sold are crisp and clear.
Blur the background: A blurred background or bokeh effect helps minimize distractions, ensuring that focus remains on the highlighted subject.
- Engaging Composition
Proper focus in image creation is closely tied to composition. Several composition rules can help you determine the right focus:
Rule of Thirds: This technique divides the image into three horizontal and vertical sections. Placing the subject at one of the intersections creates a more dynamic and visually appealing image.
Leading Lines: Lines that guide the viewer’s eyes toward the main subject can help direct focus to important elements in the image.
Natural Framing: Use surrounding elements like trees, doors, or windows to frame the subject, directing the audience’s attention to the center of the image.
- Emotion and Story Behind the Image
Images that have market value are not just visually appealing but also convey strong emotions or a compelling story. Whether in photography or illustration, subjects that evoke genuine emotion or tell a unique story will connect more easily with the audience.
Facial expressions: In portraits, a face with strong and emotional expressions often becomes the right focus because it draws attention and triggers feelings.
Visual storytelling: In digital illustration, for example, a subject that tells a story through pose, color, or environment will more likely captivate the audience and have a higher market value.
- Define the Purpose of the Image
It’s important to define the purpose of your image before deciding on the focus. Is the image meant for:
Commercial products? If so, ensure that the product is clearly visible, without distractions from irrelevant background elements.
Editorial or narrative illustrations? In this case, the main subject should highlight the story or message being conveyed.
Setting the purpose from the start makes it easier to choose which elements need to be in focus and how to arrange the composition to support that goal.
- Experiment with Angles
Different camera angles can affect how the audience sees and understands the subject. Here are some ways to determine focus using various angles:
Low Angle: Gives the impression that the subject is dominant or powerful.
High Angle: Can give the impression of vulnerability, intimacy, or smallness.
Close-up: Focusing closely on a specific detail of the subject can make the viewer pay attention to textures, expressions, or the fine details of a product.
- Color and Contrast
Effective use of color and contrast can help establish visual focus. Bright or high-contrast colors tend to catch attention more quickly than muted or neutral tones. You can use this technique to emphasize certain parts of an image.
Contrast between the subject and background: A subject with a different or brighter color than the background will automatically become the focal point.
Emotionally evocative colors: Using certain colors, such as red or yellow, can evoke strong emotional responses, making the image more attractive.
- Simplify the Composition
Overly complex images with too many visual elements can lose focus. Simplicity in composition is key to establishing strong focus. Ensure that there are no distracting elements that detract from the main subject or divert attention from the message you want to convey.
Conclusion
Determining the right focus in image creation is a critical factor that can enhance the market value of your work. From understanding your audience, utilizing depth of field, and mastering composition to experimenting with camera angles, all these aspects work together to create visuals that are not only eye-catching but also communicative and meaningful. With careful planning and an understanding of visual elements, you can produce work with high marketability.