Nokia Refocus: top tips

Nokia Refocus is an incredibly clever little app that lets you change the focus point of a photo after you’ve taken it.

Not only that, but you can then re-set the focus time and time again – concentrating attention on different aspects of the scene.

Once you’ve focused and refocused, you can share that refocusing experience with all your friends. Just upload the photo to Facebook so your friends and family can play with the focus, right within your newsfeed.

It’s easy enough to create imaging experiences using Nokia Refocus. However, here are a few tips to help you master the technique.

Think long

You need to get the thought of a photo being two-dimensional out of your head. Instead, think of your image as having depth.

In order to get the most out of Nokia Refocus you need something extremely close as well as far away from the lens. Ideally, you’ll also need lots of things at various stages in between.

It’s all about the location

Or more accurately, your position in relation to the subject you’re going to photo.

If you’re staging a scene, place the objects you’re going to photo at different positions from each other, rather than just in a long line.

This not only creates a bit more of an interesting photo, but also means that nothing is hidden behind another one of your items.

Position your Lumia close to and next to the first object. Remember, don’t place the first item right in the centre of the screen; keep it to the side, top or bottom.

Steady as you go

As with most photographing situations, you’ll need to keep your Lumia very still.

Because Nokia Refocus captures several photos of the same scene at different focus points, it’ll take a couple of seconds to finish the shot. That means you need to keep still.

The best way to tackle this is to either use a tripod, or to anchor yourself or the camera to something solid.

Find a wall, the ground, or a lamppost and hold your Lumia tightly against it. Oh, and hold your breath when you press the camera shutter button, too – that helps.

Focus on the matter in hand

After you’ve used Nokia Refocus to take some photos, experiment with the refocusing to find an interesting shot.

Tap on something in the foreground and watch the rest of the scene drop out of focus. Try the same for something that’s in the background; you’ll notice the objects closer to you will now become blurry.

Cleverly, Nokia Refocus can put everything in focus at the same time – something that’s usually difficult to achieve.

Tap the ‘All In Focus’ button and watch everything rush into detail.

Inject some colour

The Colour Pop feature in Nokia Refocus provides some extra fun. Tapping the Colour Pop icon and touching anywhere on the image will not only refocus it, but highlight the colour of that particular area.

You can then save that photo in your photo hub. Or you can…

Share it

If you’re particularly proud of your photo then let your friends take a look at it. Share it via SMS, email or via your social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

Sharing it on Facebook publishes the photo into your newsfeed where your friends can have fun and interact and change the focus, too.

Nokia Refocus is available for Nokia Lumia 920, Lumia 925, Lumia 928, Lumia 1020 (with Amber installed), and the new Lumia 1520.

Try Nokia Refocus and share your photos with us in the comments section below. We’ll pick out the best ones and feature them in a future post. Don’t forget to tell us which phone you’ve used to take the shot.

(NB: links get stuck in the moderation system and won’t appear immediately. We’ll find them and approve them – no need to submit your image again).