How to take photos with a blurry background

If you wondered how to make the background in the photo blurry so that using the correct focus only the most important element in the photo is highlighted, then you will find useful information from this article :).

Blurred back and front background. My photo. F2.0, 50mm, ISO 200, 4000 ', Helios-81n, Nikon D40

Blurred background and foreground. My photo. F2.0, 50mm, ISO 200, 4000 ′, Helios-81n, Nikon D40


The blurred background in the photo can be in two main ways:

1. Using the camera settings
2. Using software

Blurred photo

Blurred photo


On the blurring power and creating bokeh is the strongest The following physical parameters affect:

  1. Geometric aperture lens, it’s the same aperture. The smaller the F number, the finer the depth of field (depth of sharply depicted space) and the more the background and background are blurred.
  2. The focal length of the lens. The larger the focal length of the lens, the more the background will be blurred.
  3. Focusing distance to the subject. The shorter the focus distance (the distance between the camera and what you shoot), the more blurred the background.
  4. The distance between the subject and the background. The farther the background from the subject, the more blurry it is.
  5. Optical design (more specifically affects the nature of the blur). The better the optical design, the more pleasant the bokeh :)
  6. Indirectly affects matrix size the camera. More than matrix size, the more viewing angle and the closer you need to get to the subject, which, in fact, rests on the 3rd point. Therefore, they argue that full-format cameras blur the background more strongly than cropped. Speaking rudely, the more crop factorthe harder it is to blur the background.
  7. Also, blurring is affected by special nozzles and filters on the lens. Here an example of a simple home-made Center Spot filter.

You can also blur the background using special graphic editors. But, of course, a more natural and natural blurring of the background occurs directly when shooting. In order to blur the background with the camera as much as possible, you need to configure it correctly.

What is the best way to set up your camera

1. Need to maximize aperture... F-number is usually responsible for the aperture. It is very convenient to take photos with a blurred background in the aperture priority mode, which is indicated on the camera mode dial by the letters'A' or 'Av'. Open - means to decrease the F number. For example, the F3.5 aperture value is greater than the F5.6 aperture value. If, for example, the camera is set to F8.0, then to open the aperture you need to lower it to the minimum allowable, usually F5.6, F3.5, F2.8. On fast lenses, even F1.8 and F1.4 can be set. For example, on a piece of paper I printed “This is the background” and to blur it I first shot at F / 1.4, and in order to develop it more, I shot at 16.0

The effect of the aperture on the depth of field and on the blurriness of the background

The effect of the aperture on the depth of field and on the blurriness of the background

2. You need the maximum focal length on your existing lens (that is, unscrew the zoom to maximum). Than more will be the focal length, the easier it will be to blur the background. To do this, you should make the maximum approximation on a digital camera, and on a SLR - simply transfer the lens to the focal length with the maximum number. For example, if you have a standard '18 -55mm 'class lens, then it will be best to blur the background at 55mm (at the maximum extreme position with the largest number of focal lengths). On a regular digital camera (aka 'soapbox'), sometimes you can simply turn on the macro mode, while the lens itself is set to the maximum focal length.

Sample photo with blurry background

Sample photo with blurry background

3. Finally, get as close as possible to the subject you are shooting. The closer the subject is to the lens, the stronger the blur. In this case, the lens will focus closer and closer. Just see that the frame is well-arranged, otherwise you can shoot something completely different from what was planned.

Sample photo with blurry background

Sample photo with blurry background


Boke

Of course, many have heard of bokeh. Bokeh is the nature of the background blur, including its intensity. If the lens blurs the background well, then the lens is said to have good bokeh. There is a lot of debate about the beauty of bokeh - which lens is better or worse. Bokeh has its own plasticity, distortions, twisting, etc., the feeling of beauty of bokeh comes with experience and each has its own.

Sample photo with blurry background. Soft bokeh

Sample photo with blurry background. Soft bokeh


Chasing bokeh

The pursuit of better bokeh is a comparison of a huge number of shots, all sorts of arguments in favor of a particular lens, which leads to the pursuit of fast and long-focus lenses, which cost a lot of money.

Sample photo with blurry background

Sample photo with blurry background


Which lens blurs the background the most

Coming from previous thoughts, the lens with a large focal length and large aperture... For example, 50mm lenses blur the background well - lenses with a XNUMXmm focal length and a large aperture F1.4, the short telephones of the 135mm F2.0 type blur the background even more strongly, the 200 mm F2.0 telephones are even stronger, and so on. But the longer the focal length and the larger aperture, the more expensive the lens. Therefore, usually amateurs stop at a fifty-kopeck piece of the 50mm F1.4 type, or on a dark, but long-focus telephoto lens of the 70-300mm F4.0-5.6 type. Which lens is best for you - it depends only on your personal considerations.

Sample photo with blurry background

Sample photo with blurry background


More thoughts about blurring

If you delve into the subtleties of what affects the bokeh more, then it is difficult to reach a consensus, but please note that sometimes the focal length affects more than aperture the lens. Also, the blur of the background is indirectly affected by the size of the sensor for the same lens. So on full-frame cameras they say that blur is stronger with the same lens. The depth of field of the lens does not change - it is a physical quantity. So what's the catch? And the catch is that the focusing distance of the lens changes to compose the same frame. And of course, the farther the background is from the subject, the more it will blur. By the way, short-focus lenses with large aperture it’s better to blur the background, which is close to the subject.

Background blur in a full-length portrait

Background blur in a full-length portrait


Photoshop will also help

If the picture is taken and you want to blur the background, then Photoshop or another program will come to the rescue. There are a lot of blur methods and I will not dwell on them.

What is blurring the front and back (far) plan in general?

What is blurring the front and back (far) plan in general?


Conclusions:

For maximum blur, shoot with the widest aperture and the maximum focal length of your lens. In this case, the further the distance between the background and the subject is and the closer the distance between the camera and the subject, the more the background will be blurred. If the camera cannot provide a normal blur, you can finish it in a special program, such as Photoshop.

↓↓↓ Like it :) ↓↓↓ Thank you for your attention. Arkady Shapoval.

Add a comment: Sultan

 

 

Comments: 444, on the topic: How to take pictures with a blurred background

  • Julia

    but with new models ... as I understand it is impossible to do this with a soap box .. I'm not a pro .. just an amateur .. but. I want to embrace everything, and for an acceptable amount

  • Julia

    what about Nikon D3000 18-55 or Nikon Coolpix P510. what can you say about these models

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I can not. I did not encounter Coolpix P510.

  • Igor

    Good day! Please correct me if something is wrong.
    To achieve blur:
    1. 18-105mm-max aperture and focal length - it is somewhere 10-15 meters from the object of shooting (if in full growth), i.e. no way in the apartment
    2. 50mm f / 1.8 max aperture - somewhere between 1-3 meters from the shooting projection, i.e. a bird on a tree
    Thanks in advance for the answer

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Something like this.

  • NASTYA

    BEFORE YOU CAN MAKE A BOKE WITH A PHOTIC D5100 LENS 18-105

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Yes, you can. Turn on Aperture Priority A, zoom to 105mm, and shoot at your leisure with blurred backgrounds.

  • nastya

    interest

  • anonym

    I have Nikon d 5100 18-105, I turned on the aperture f 5.6 105 mm, but for some reason it doesn’t blur from far away, it only blurs in the vicinity, what am I doing wrong thanks.

  • Zhenya

    Good day. I have Nikon d 5100 18-105. I did not build an aperture of f 5.6, 105 mm, but I can’t get a blurry background at a far distance, but at close it turns out, what's wrong? Thanks.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      From far away and will not blur, since the focusing distance affects the strength of the blur.

  • Anna

    Hello Arkady! I have Nikon 1 j2. After reading your articles, I was puzzled by the blurring of the background, but no Nikkor lenses are suitable for it !!! For him, it turns out, special series 1 nikkor, and there is little choice. Tell me, what is better - 18,5 mm f1,8 or 30-110 mm f 3,5-5,6 ??? Or is it easier to throw this junk ???

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Better 30-110 blurs at 110mm

  • Alexandra

    Hello! I have a Nikon 3100. Which lens is more suitable for a blurred background when photographing people?

  • Anastasia

    Hello!
    I'm going to buy a Nikon D5100 18-55 VR KIT .... My favorite effect is the blurred background .. Can you tell me how well it will blur the background, and if this camera was made for this effect.
    So will it blur the background if the subject is 20 cm from the photographer

  • Maksim

    And another question) And what do you think is better to buy a D3100 / 3200 with a good lens, or a D5100 with a good lens too, will there be a difference? If so, which one?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      The difference will be, but very small, these are cameras from the same line. In the Nikon D3100 review there is a plate comparing the D3100 and Dv3200 cameras, I would take the D3200 because of the huge dd and color rendition.

  • Catherine

    Hello Arkady, I bought a Nikon D90 a week ago. I really want to learn to take a picture with a blurred background. Like, like the book, I read it all (user manual). Av you can write in great detail, from the choice of mode to the end, how to get a photo.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      1. Set mode A (aperture priority)
      2. Set the maximum zoom (maximum zoom on the lens)
      3. Set the minimum number F that the lens allows, usually 1.4 or 2.8 or 4.5 or 5.6
      4. As close as possible to the subject of our shooting
      5. We take pictures

  • Catherine

    Hello Arkady !!!!! A week ago they bought Nikon D90, and so I want to try taking a picture with a blurred background. Already I read the book (user manual) all. Please write from the very beginning (from the choice of the mode) and to the end in detail how to take a photo. Thanks a lot !!!!!!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I already answered you, I will not be too lazy to write again
      1. Set mode A (aperture priority)
      2. Set the maximum zoom (maximum zoom on the lens)
      3. Set the minimum number F that the lens allows, usually 1.4 or 2.8 or 4.5 or 5.6
      4. As close as possible to the subject of our shooting
      5. We take pictures

  • Novel

    Arkady I have 50mm 1.8D, the portrait washes to the waist, if I shoot the object in full growth, then the background does not wash so much. Is the focusing distance written from 45 cm to 3 m to infinity written on the lens, that is, does the focusing distance affect blurring of the background? I’m thinking about acquiring an extra lick.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Yes, the focus distance affects the strength of the blur. About this is written in this article, it was enough just to read.

  • Anastasia

    Hello, Arkady. I recently got a Nikon D5100 with a lens of 18-105. I also want to buy a 50mm f1.8g lens (I ask the question in passing, is it needed with the current 18-105?). And I want to ask this. From the above read (1. Set A mode (aperture priority)
    2. Set the maximum zoom (maximum zoom on the lens)
    3. Set the minimum number F that the lens allows, usually 1.4 or 2.8 or 4.5 or 5.6
    4. As close as possible to the subject of our shooting
    5. Photographing) -I understood how to photograph with a lens 18-105. And if there is a 50mm fix, where there is no zoom, then what should I do? All the same, only without point 2? Thank you and sorry for the apparently stupid question.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Fifty dollars does not have a zoom, since this is a fixed lens. Just remove item 2.

  • Michael

    I'm going to buy a professional and choose between the Canon 550d with a standard lens in the kit, it seems 18-55mm and the Nikon d3200 also with 18-55mm. Which one is better to blur the background? And in general I choose between them for a long time, you can advise which one is better, I say right away that I need it to shoot people.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Blurring the background with the specified lenses will be the same and very faint. I would take the D3200, it is newer.

    • Andrei

      Take a nikon D70s / D80 to understand what you need as painlessly as possible) the price of the issue with a lens is 10-12 thousand) and the camera is an order of magnitude higher than your D3200 / 550d sub-mirrors ... the fact that the D80 has a pentaprism, and not a pentamirror, already says a lot ))

  • Marina

    Hello Arkady! Please tell me, is it possible to get a blurred background with a canon sx30is camera? And is it worth it to acquire, pursuing this goal?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      It is possible, but only photographing objects at close range. In pursuit of this goal, there is no point in buying.

  • Katherine

    Thanks so much for the helpful article.
    As far as I understand, not one of the lenses that come with system cameras is designed for portraits :( However, guided by your recommendations, you can extend something.

    Here, the Sony Nex 5 comes with a 16mm F2.8 and 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 lens. In addition, 16-50 mm F3.5-5.6 is offered.

    Please tell me which of these lenses can be used as a replacement for portraiture at first (full-length photographs and average plan)?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      18-55mm is best suited, but will cope mediocre.

  • Innochka

    Hello Arkady! I have Nikon 1. Can it make a blurry background?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Hello. Yes maybe.

  • User

    Our people are surprisingly tight. In the article, everything is chewed up so that it is simply impossible to explain it more easily. Moreover, in the comments 100500 times everything is explained. But people persist in asking the same stupid questions. Strikingly simple. Why do you need a DSLR if you are not able to read and understand an article where everything is described very simply? If you write the name of your camera and ask whether it will “make a blurred background” when the author has just explained for an hour that it is not the camera that “blurs”, but the lens? Enraged by such slopoks

    • Innochka

      I tried, it didn’t work out for me. Here and clarified for myself. Here I am enraged by those who can’t keep their mouths shut and in my opinion I wrote to Arkady, not to the LOSER!

      • Stanislas

        = Innochka =
        Arkady writes and explains everything in a very accessible way so that even a child will understand. And at the same time he repeats the same thing about which he wrote about ten more times. But as I see, even he could not resist writing "Yes, maybe."
        Isn’t it so hard to read the article carefully ?! Then the questions and answers will be sane.
        After all, tomorrow you will buy a dark wide-angle on Nikon 1 and begin to accuse Arkady that he deceived you and Nikon 1 does not know how to blur the background.

        “I tried it, it didn't work.” For this reason, it did not work out.
        Be tolerant of criticism

  • Novel

    Good evening Arkady !!! I have a Canon 650D 18-55. I can’t take a photo with the child on the moving carousel so that the child is clear, and when the carousel moves, the entire background should be blurred. Please tell me how to do this ???

  • Denis

    Thank you very much for the information ... All articles are very clear and interesting !!!! Please tell me, I have a d3100 with a kit lens 18-55, why when I take a picture of an object that is close to the lens, the background is very well smeared, and if the object (person ) in full growth and at a distance of more than 1m, then it already smears very poorly)))) Are these things in the hands, fotik or in the lens? Thanks for earlier ..

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Affairs in the laws of physics. It should be so.

  • Vladimir

    I have a SONY H100. I am trying to take such a photo, but something is not very good ... now I think it might be a camera ... Tell me please, do you get such photos on such a camera? Is it worth trying? Or is it just my hands like that))) ??

    • Arkady Shapoval

      On such a camera, it is more difficult to achieve this effect than on a camera with a large sensor.

  • Tatyana

    Good day. I read your article, I really liked it. For a beginner, everything is accessible and understandable. I would just like to ask you, as a professional, if I can get blurry photos if I buy a nikon coolpix p100 camera. Thanks in advance for the answer and for such a useful article !!!!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      You cannot achieve such a strong blur, as in this article.

  • Olga

    Hello Arkady! I want to get a camera for amateur photos with a blurred background. Can I achieve this with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H100 or a device from another manufacturer with similar characteristics? Which manufacturer is better to give preference? Thanks!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      It will be difficult to achieve. You need to look not at the manufacturer, but at a specific model.

    • Julia

      I have a Sony Cyber-shot! Everything turns out great!

Add a comment

Copyright © Radojuva.com. Blog author - Photographer in Kiev Arkady Shapoval. 2009-2023

English-version of this article https://radojuva.com/en/2012/01/dof-best-lens-photo/comment-page-2/?replytocom=43201

Versión en español de este artículo https://radojuva.com/es/2012/01/dof-best-lens-photo/comment-page-2/?replytocom=43201