It doesn't have to be sharp!

Yea... I have been hearing alot of people exclaiming that they want their photo crisp and sharp (or sharp and crisp, whatever). Anyway, if all photos are very very sharp... you might as well buy a one dollar postcard and thats it.

Think of it this way, sharpness of a photo doesn't necessary means that it is a good shot... I had always preach about getting a picture with some depth in it... and when I say that, I means, the photo must be somewhat different from other, tells a story of itself, or was unique in its own way... but do note that having a lousy out of focus shot doesn't mean it is unique in itself and is a good photo though. Confuse? Lets have a look then,

(Heavy downpour but still need to get there)

ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/250
Aperture: f/4

(Running in the run... but still sexy)

ISO: 1600
Shutter Speed: 1/320
Aperture: f/6.3

(Love in the rain)

ISO: 160
Shutter Speed: 1/100
Aperture: f/5

As you can see from the above photos, none of them are extremely sharp... nor are they intended to be extremely sharp... or sharp even. Taking the first photo as an example, the blurriness is purposely intended that way so as to emphasis on how heavy the rain was... You basically cannot make out much of the person... but that is what make the picture interesting. My subject is not clear... all you see is someone there... with an umbrella and a blur figure.

Another example of blurriness that is good is for showing of speed or movement as seen in the undermentioned photo.

ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/500
Aperture: f/6.7


If the bird is very sharp... you wouldn't feel that it is actually running or moving.

Blurriness can also be made use of to create creative shots... as seen,

ISO: 320
Shutter Speed: 1/5
Aperture: f/4


Well... for this shot, I purposely choose a lower shutter speed and move my camera up and down to create a blurred overall pic. It is a creative shot that might not appeal to everyone, but I kind of like the effect... instead of having a very sharp and crisp photo that you can easily find in postcards.

Finally, do not be afraid to play with different effects and do not be afraid to experiment.You do not need a very very sharp and detailed photo to make them excellent. Make use of everything you can for the shot. And blurriness is one good tool to use too.