Ask Jim

Every month, Jim will answer a question from his online students, from people who participate in his tours and workshops, or from subscribers to this magazine. If you have a question you’d like Jim to answer, please drop him a note at photos@jimzuckerman.com.

Q: Jim . . . I photographed this nuthatch in Bryce Canyon National Park using a 400mm focal length, and because the depth of field is so shallow, the bark of the tree at the far right is out of focus. I like the blurred background, but do you think the out of focus tree hurts the image? If so, is there a solution? Corey Thompson, Savannahm, Georgia A: In my opinion, the out of focus tree bark is a problem. It’s distracting and visually annoying. What you could have done at the time is, once you recognize the issue, take a second shot in which the bark is in focus and sharp. Then, use Photoshop to combine the two pictures. At this point, the only thing you can do is find another tree (preferably of the same species so the new bark is biologically correct with the rest of the original tree), photograph it, and then use this new photo to replace the blurred foreground. §

© Jared Newman