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: Andrei

 

 

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

  • Alexey

    Tell me, please, for beginners in which mode it is better to shoot children in A or S, thanks
    Nikon D5300

    • Valery A.

      It is advisable to control both aperture and shutter speed. Here's a beginner's guide, approximate, of course. I would shoot with such settings (with enough light): mode A, close the aperture by 1-2 stops (for example, if the maximum aperture for a given FR is 4, then up to 5,6-8); auto iso to workers for 5300, say 3200, in the same place we put a long shutter speed of 100-150 (if not running). We shoot from the level of children, then we look at the pictures, analyze, read the theory and equipment and again.

  • anonym

    Hello. Well, explain to me please, with the maximum open aperture, at the maximum focal length. I’m shooting, the background is blurry straight ideally. But how to photograph a person in full growth and blur the background to the maximum? Nikon d3100 18-55 mm

    • brighty

      The larger the focal length, the more blurry. Set 55 mm, the aperture is the smallest, in your case it is 5.6, get closer to the person at the closest distance, when he is fully in the frame, vertically if standing or horizontally if lying, the background should be at maximum distance, otherwise it is difficult to get blur on aperture 5.6 .

      Strictly speaking with an 18-55 whale lens, shooting full-length portraits with a blurry background is not a thankful task.

      There is one more variation, in Photoshop, take the “blur” tool and rub it all the places you want to blur. Cheap and cheerful.

  • anonym

    Thanks a lot! I’m thinking about Nikkor 35.18 just for these purposes, is it worth it?

    • Valery A.

      It’s worth it. Or 50 / 1,8G if 50mm on the go.

  • Maksim

    So what about the macro rings? - do they help blur the background? As far as I understand, there will be less flu?
    it turns out you can finish a small macro ring and get more blur?

  • BB

    Macro rings allow you to shoot Macro.

    What affects the blur:

    Focusing distance to the subject. The shorter the focus distance (the distance between the camera and what you shoot), the more blurred the background.

  • anonym

    Please tell me Nikon d 3200. which is better to buy a lens for blurred background ?????

    • Rodion

      85 / 1,8 native or Helios-81H or native 50 / 1,4 or native 50 / 1,8. Depending on the required angle and budget.

    • Maugli

      AF-S NIKKOR 200mm f / 2G ED VR II

      • fotika

        zatrooooleno))))

  • Alexander

    Tell the lens for good background blur under Nikon 3200
    Up to 200-300 $
    Thank you.

    • Denis

      this amount - the new Nikon 50mm f / 1.4G

      • Alexander

        Thank you.

        • ebel

          CLIMBING ON CARS AND TAKING THE SECOND-HAND NIKKOR 85 1.8G, I TAKED 18, ALTITUDE IN THE STORE NIKON IT IS FOR SALE IN 2019 FOR 36

    • BB

      A fifty-kopeck piece on a crop is very highly specialized: portraits can normally be shot from waist-length to full-length. For the front you need something longer, from 70mm.

  • Inna

    yak zrobiti rosmitiy background on nikon D7100 &

    • KalekseyG

      yak in statistics

  • Nika

    Hello!
    My question is the opposite.
    Canon 600d + 18-135mm and 50mm / 1.8. How to shoot a person in full height, half-length portrait and shoulder-length portrait with each of the lenses, so that the person looks sharp ALL while maintaining the best blurry background? When shooting, I always retain clarity only in the focus area (mainly the face, eyes), the rest - either blurry or less clear - this is all noticeable and spoils the portrait.
    If it’s easy, please write, at least for orientation on each lens, the aperture settings, shutter speed, mode (aperture or manual?), Distance to the model, ISO. I CAN’t understand what is wrong with the settings. A combination of aperture and distance? or all together?
    If it is difficult to determine in absentia, you can link to your articles that may help.
    Thank you very much!!!

  • anonym

    Tell me on Nikon P500 (soap box) can I achieve background blur ???

    • Arkady Shapoval

      It is possible, but only by removing small objects.

      • brighty

        And from a short distance.

  • anonym

    Advise which is better to get a SLR camera?

    • Valery A.

      Joke, please. A dozen clarifying questions (cheaper, more expensive, easier, harder, etc.) will be followed by a dozen options, which have been discussed here many times. Read, choose.

    • Yarkiya

      Under the heading "cameras" there are articles which amateur cameras can be purchased from Nikon and Kenon. Read, do not consider it to be labor. Of course, the questions will not diminish, rather, on the contrary, they will increase, but perhaps these questions will no longer be so general.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Of course, Canon or Nikon. Knon selection hereNikon Choice here.

    • Pastor

      Olympus does the best DSLRs. Other manufacturers every year release alterations of their cameras in several pieces, and Olympus made the best SLR many years ago and does not release anything else since it has already reached the ideal.

      • Valery A.

        He is not alone - Fuji, Kodak, Sigma ..., choose again.

  • anonym

    Please advise as a beginner what to take d5200 or d3300 or something else to shoot family nature, etc.

    • Valery A.

      There is no fundamental difference, I'm for 3300 because of more modern. matrix and ISO above.

    • Yarkiya

      Tighten up and take the 5300, a great camera.

    • maugli

      In 5200, 5300 autofocus is better, from small cameras 5300 the best option, IMHO.

  • Dima

    Thanks for the useful information.

  • Christina

    Good evening !!! Tell me, please, how can I make a cloudy background on a fujifilm s2980 camera ..

    • Onotole

      Step 1. Sell this soap dish and buy, although cheap, old and used, but a DSLR.
      Step 2. Buy a lens with the smallest number after the letter F in the name that you can afford.
      Step 3. Read this article and do what it says, if it’s not clear - take the time and figure it out.

      An alternative option is to master Photoshop, but this is at the same time more laborious, longer in time, more expensive, and the result will, as a rule, be worse.

    • B. R. P.

      You need to stir up the shot with the background, kristinochka ...

      • Oleg

        iPhone :)

        • Onotole

          By the way, yes! With the new iPhone, which has a dual camera, you can easily and naturally take pictures with a blurred background.
          It’s just that it will be much more expensive than points 1, 2 and 3 +, it will remain even for photo courses.

    • anonym

      Set the maximum zoom zoom and move away when the subject enters the frame.

      • Oleg

        The maximum approximation on the zoom and the whole frame may become “cloudy” :) Although in fact an option, the aperture should also be opened as much as possible.
        You can still separate the background by a large distance.

  • Maria

    Good day! I beg for help in choosing a lens or it may cost the camera to look another, but I’m more inclined for the money to change the lens. I have a D3100 18-55 kit. Blur is obtained only on a macro ((I can’t shoot my children because I want a bright photo and without blurring, I dream of a cool blurring of the background. Please advise the lens so that children can shoot and maybe squirrels, birds, etc., in nature, and not just the flowers of macro photography ((((

    • Oleg

      1 way: Buy a flash with a rotary emitter and your lens in telephoto (55 mm) will shoot perfectly with blur (though at the maximum open aperture) + the photos will be without smear with good color and normal shadows (if the flash is not buried, but into the ceiling or wall)

      Way 2: Buy a fast fix type 50 / 1.8 or 85 / 1.8 (less convenient for your camera). This option has disadvantages: - there may not be enough light for short exposures and you will have to raise the ISO (color and sharpness suffer); - group shots (where you need to close the aperture to 4.0-5.6) will have the same problem (color and sharpness).

      3 way: do not buy anything, and children are 1,5 meters from the camera (this is the recommended minimum distance for portraits), the background is as far as possible + ambient light (cloudy weather, shadow) + the background should be lighter than the darkest part of the object and darker than bright

      Ideally, all of the above. IMHO, of course.

    • Valery A.

      “Please advise the lens so that children can shoot and maybe squirrels, birds can be outdoors…” - Nikon 70-200 / 2,8 or 70-200 / 4 - and portrait and moderate telephoto lenses, but the price… and heavy ones, probably not Your option. Then a separate telephoto, for example. Nikon 70-300 VR or 55-300, at least 55-200 VR and a fast lens: 85 / 1,8G (classic portrait lens), cheaper (and more versatile) - 50 / 1,8G or, even more versatile, zooms like sigma 17 -50 / 2,8 OS or tamron 28-75 / 2,8. You know the principle of blur: the maximum possible focal length, open aperture, the closer the subject and the further the background, the stronger the blur.

      • Oleg

        Not a big gain in aperture ratio. Children are very mobile :) I clamp the diaphragm to 5.6-6.3 when I take pictures of the children at a short distance, so that if they move, they stay in the DOF. And with such horse apertures - only flash, only hardcore :)

  • Fanil

    there are programs that frame the background to disgrace, for example, I used to have a Canon MFP earlier, a soapbox Olympus, so I blurred the background, God forbid, so the printers have their own improvements, you can do everything, I used to improve the sharpness of the red eyes

    • Oleg

      Tin. Sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a period.

      • Fanil

        who are you a teacher of Russian language chtoli

      • If you komenty understood walking further teacherFanil

        If you kommnty understood walk further teacher xxx

      • If you komenty understood walking further teacherFanil

        you see the name and be silent

        • Alexey

          What's the name? It means educated, not boorish.

    • Peter Sh.

      Do you really think that ignorance and rudeness are acceptable in communication between people who respect themselves and their work, and can help you find answers to questions tormenting you?

      Not long wrote, could read?

      • Yarkiya

        The child writes on the phone, he offers the phone himself words, so there are no spelling errors. But all modern youth chatting almost completely ignore punctuation marks, unfortunately the phone does not offer them. But to be rude, it’s not a lot of mind.

        • Oleg

          Alas. Not a phone. Totally typos.

        • Onotole

          No offense, but in your post I also did not count at least four commas and instead of one comma there should be a dash.

          • Oleg

            No offense, of course. I’m not talking about commas and other punctuation, but about capital letters and periods at the end of a sentence.
            It's not very cool to decipher what is written in "free style".

            • Onotole

              My post also lacks commas.
              In fact, there are lower requirements for literacy on the Internet.
              But rudeness (like Fanil's, for example), especially out of the blue, I think is absolutely unacceptable. A text written with a very large number of errors, with a clear disregard for punctuation - can also be equated with rudeness, or at least disrespect for those who will read it.

            • Onotole

              And it was about the post Yarkiy

  • Marina

    Very interesting article, thanks! I still read interesting articles here hobbiphoto.ru, maybe someone will be interested too

  • Masseta

    Thank you very much for the article, for useful comments! In fact, all your advice helped me in the fall!

  • KAA

    And if there is an opposite task. Achieve maximum sharpness in the whole photo.
    A typical situation, I shoot an object at a distance of 50m, but I want the background of 1 - 2 km or even more to be as clear as possible. Or we shoot a large lawn, objects 30 meters away are clear, and 100 meters or more are already blurred.
    How to achieve maximum clarity throughout the frame? What lenses are better suited for this task?

    • Onotole

      It's not difficult at all. We cover the aperture to the diffraction threshold (f / 7-8 for modern crop cameras, 9-11 for FF) or even a little more, plus wide-angle optics. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle, the less blur will be. Even less blurring - for matrices with a smaller size, i.e. on phones and soap dishes, almost always, at any setting, everything will be sharp.
      However, it is not always possible to make the background at a distance of 1-2 km or more quite sharp and the point is not in optics. The air itself may not be transparent enough, either due to moisture or dust / gas contamination, or due to commonplace heat fluxes. In other words, you need a suitable state of nature.

      • KAA

        Actually from where the legs grow. For a very long time I used the Canon SX40 ultrasound with a 1 / 2.3 matrix, and now I switched to the Sony a6000 crop, and such a difference in definition in the frame immediately began to annoy. Personally, I do not like it.
        Wide-angle lenses are good, but some of the pictures have to be taken on Sony SEL-55210 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 whale telephoto. Here, too, should I cover the diaphragm? In general, how to understand how much you can cover it?

        And I also want to know on what plan regarding relatively budget lenses, and in particular televisions, is it worth paying attention to obtaining maximum clarity throughout the frame?

        • KalekseyG

          Read about DOF. And budget glasses are just better for this - they have a smaller aperture and a larger depth of field. On the carcass, select the landscape mode and the camera itself will cover everything as much as possible. Or go back 1 / 2.3

          • KAA

            By the way, I noticed when I read reviews on fixed lenses, such as 30mm F1.4. I didn’t really like the examples of photos, even compared to whale lenses. And I did not like the smaller DOF. The author writes how much better these pictures are, but for me, the greater the majority of the pictures has good sharpness, the better.
            Perhaps the root of this discrepancy in taste is that many people do not have 100% vision and they are used to seeing a not very clear picture.

            • Valery A.

              By the way, I have 100% vision, but reading your comment, I blurryly see the keyboard on the table and the interior behind the monitor with peripheral (lateral) vision. It's the same with looking at a flower, etc. Different blurring in the picture gives a sense of the volume of the captured space. And so yes, read the article “DOF calculator”.

              • KAA

                The point is a little different. You see blur as an artistic device. But if you take a photo and want to see something in the background, and the background is already a little blurry, most likely you will not like it. And you will have the question of choosing the least evil, the information content of the photo in the form of maximum clarity, or the beautiful blur effect. But people who are not 100% sighted are already faced with the problem that the picture before their eyes is not very clear, they are more familiar with it, and when choosing clarity or beauty, they are more likely to give preference to beauty. It seems so to me.

              • Valery A.

                Of course, you are right - there are many cases (landscape, someone against the background of something interesting) when it is important to have everything sharp, and this is achievable on a crop, familiarize yourself with the concept of "hyperfocal", for practical use you have already been recommended a program for your phone ...

            • Vitaly N

              A person has a very small angle of view with normal sharpness, and the margin of sharpness is also small. Try without moving your eyes to make out what is written at a distance of a few centimeters. Or closer, further. Even 100% vision will not help. That you perceive the world as “sharp” is actually the result of continuous scanning with your eyes, which also constantly change “focus distance”. Photos with a small border of field are closer to reality than with a large one. In addition, this makes the subject stand out.

              • Denis

                Try not moving your eyes to understand what is written at a distance of several centimeters

                it will take years of training)))

              • KAA

                Therefore, ideally, we should not take a photograph, a 3D model, looking at which we could focus our vision on different objects. But we do not have such technology, or rather, we can either make a series of photos with focus on different objects, or make a video. But it is inconvenient. I would like to take one photograph in which we can freely look from one object to another, regardless of their remoteness.
                This approach is different from making an artistically beautiful photo. Here is a man, here is a castle, and we need to take a beautiful picture of him against the background of the castle, everything else is already a secondary background.
                My approach, there is no secondary background. I’m photographing a person not against the background of a particular castle. All background details are equivalent, like a castle, teak and trees in the distance.

            • Vitaly N

              As you've already been told, it's easier to return to the small matrix. For the shots you want, I have a soap dish with a 1 / 1.7 matrix. Even with a maximum aperture of 1.8, she photographs with a fairly large depth of field. And by pressing, I get what you like - a sharp object against a sharp background.

        • Onotole

          Of course, you need to clamp the aperture to get a greater depth of field on telephoto as well as on any other lens. But on TV, ceteris paribus will always be thinner visually.
          To understand to what limit you can clamp the diaphragm, you can read about the Airy circle, then take some data from the technical specifications for your camera and do some calculations on the calculator. And you can determine this experimentally. On a clear day, you need to focus on a distant object (the neighboring apartment building opposite is perfect) and take a series of identical photos at different aperture values. Then analyze them, considering the smallest details: first, on the most open image, as a rule, it will not be the most clear, then, as the aperture closes, the sharpness will quickly reach a maximum and will remain so for quite a long time, and after reaching the diffraction threshold, softness will begin to appear in the details , turbidity - the further, the more. Before the appearance of this turbidity, you can safely close the diaphragm (well, of course, if there is enough light). This aperture threshold is independent of focal length and, once determined, will be the same on any lens.

          As for the dispute “everything should be sharp” - “the background can be completely blurred”, it all depends on individual taste. A photograph should reproduce a picture not as the eye saw it, but as the brain remembered it. And as it was already written above, a sharp picture of the world is the result of scanning with the eyes and processing by the brain. Your brain turned out to be in a beautiful place, received information from the eyes that examined it in every detail, every leaf, every stalk in a large space on the left-right side and remembered it just like that, in the smallest detail, and the same you want to see a photograph - nothing is easier: EGF 24mm, f / 16 will give excellent results.
          And if, for example, my brain is arranged a little differently, and let's say I saw a girl on the street just that way - remembering in detail only her eyes, smile, lips, maybe hair; minor details like ears, nose, skin texture, clothing - they are no longer so engraved in memory, but they still have a place to be, but the environment, the background, I became so indifferent that even having strained myself, I could not remember what was there. In this way, images are obtained in memory, which, to great luck, are now not difficult for us to recreate thanks to only high-aperture moderate telephoto lenses.

          • KAA

            Actually, I started with this, that my personal taste is based on the maximum sharpness of the whole frame. If you look at the landscape and want to take a closer look at some house far from the central object, you will look there. And in order to consider it in the photograph, it is necessary that it be all clear.
            By the way, therefore, I really do not like 3D films. They often focus clarity not on the objects that I want to make out.

            • Vitaly N

              Then just switch to small matrices, with DSLRs it's hard to do. It's easier to take a picture. Or switch to a completely different technique https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Пленоптическая_камера

              • Valentine

                Nothing is heavy. Sharpness will be throughout the frame in 2 cases: 1) the object and background are within the boundaries of the depth of field; 2) the object and background are beyond hyperfocal distance. Everything, then select the optics and shooting parameters for your tasks. Small matrices (less than 4/3) are not an option at all: the picture quality on them is not impressive.

              • Vitaly N

                Yes, but that's in theory. In fact, sometimes it is problematic to remove a person against the background of the castle. You can of course use a wide-angle lens, press the aperture down with sufficient light. But you can't shoot everything with a wide angle, and sometimes there is simply no room even for a normal portrait distance, especially for a hyperfocal distance. I just came from Prague myself. Of course, there are sharp photographs of people against the background of castles (usually by 11mm), but when the wife asks to photograph her on the bridge, and so that the background is sharp, and so that the river below is visible, and so that she herself is not in the center, but on the edge and close-up ... The soap dish really saved me.
                For example - on the D3200 with an aperture of 8 and a focal length of 18 mm, the focusing distance for a hyperfocal distance to infinity is about 3 meters. Pressing the aperture further - sharpness is noticeably reduced. And if you shoot "portraits" close-up and from the "correct" distance and with a sharp distant background - it's not at all realistic. For fifty dollars and aperture 8, the focusing distance will be 17 meters - no large portrait. And with increasing focal length it only grows. The way out is to take pictures from such a distance and crop. Then what's the difference with a small matrix if you have to use a small area with a large one?

              • Vitaly N

                I specially looked at the photos with waist-length portraits and a sharp background. I'm afraid my wife will ask them to be removed or not shown to anyone. You shouldn't take portraits with short focal length lenses. If only for the sake of a "clear" background.

              • Valentine

                Vitaliy, the wife in this case is the model, and you are the photographer, so you should command the process and manage the shooting, not the wife. You never know who wants to take a close-up photograph of his head against the background of the castle and so that the head is without too much sharpness (for a portrait), and the castle would be detailed and very sharp (for the landscape). You can think of a lot of eclecticism, but, in reality, you yourself must create a composition that at least slightly meets the artistic laws. I hope that KAA’s passion for always absolutely sharp pictures will pass, because this is far from always appropriate and can both increase and decrease the value of the image.

              • Vitaly N

                I have led this more to the fact that technically it is possible with a DSLR, but a caricature is aesthetically pleasing.

              • KAA

                You reduced it to a portrait anyway. I don’t like people to take pictures by the waist, I prefer in full growth.
                Those. the person is about five meters from you. Behind him in 20-50 meters is a building, or something else, against which he wants to be photographed. But behind all this there is still some background, 0.5 - 1 - 2 km. And I want to see all this clearly enough.

              • Valentine

                What problems? The network has examples of such filming on a full frame, on a crop, and that is easier and cheaper.

              • Valentine

                I can only advise you to read the next topic again https://radojuva.com/2012/11/hyperfocalnoe-dof-main/

    • Valentine

      There will be no background blur where the hyperfocal distance is reached. It can be calculated independently or automatically using calculator programs (for example, the Android application - Hyper Focal), which calculates the depth of field and hyperfocal distance for the camera and the focal lens. Those. having calculated the parameters (aperture and the desired distance to the subject) and focusing on the subject, you will get a frame without blurring the background. Further, how sharp the object and background details will be depends heavily on the quality of your equipment.

  • Vikentiy

    Good day! How to make a cloudy background on a Citizen calculator?

    • Boris

      A stone on it ...

  • Peter

    Hello! What is the optimal distance to the subject when shooting a half-length portrait with a full frame of 50 1.8? 85 1,8?
    Thank you very much

  • Oksana

    I have a SONY SLT-58, tell me which lens to choose for portraits with a blurred background? Thanks!

  • Michael

    I'd like to shoot a beautiful portrait "waist-high" and in full growth with a blurry background. Tell me, what is better to set Settings on Av, a Canon G11 camera .. Will something acceptable be taken into account?

    • Michael

      Open the aperture (Av mode), come closer, but the acceptability is different for everyone)

      • Valery A.

        And the distance from the object to the background is larger.

  • Oksana

    Hello, I have a nikon d3400 in a kit with a whale lens 18-55 dx.
    I plan to move on to the full frame of the same brand in the future, I want to improve the quality and shooting capabilities right now, because I feel the limited capabilities of the whale lens
    Question: which lens to choose for crop to get beautiful bokeh and reportage shooting?

    • B. R. P.

      Nikon 50mm1.8G AF-S Nikkor, Nikon 85mm1.8G AF-S Nikkor.

  • Olga

    Good day to all :)
    Help the beginner. I'm confused :(
    Photo with a blurred background - with aperture is understandable. I don’t understand with a zoom ... Then at what distance do I need to move away from the subject to get it all into the frame? Entirely and also so that the background also hits :)))
    I understand that somewhere I misunderstood some detail, I missed it, but I don’t understand what.
    Fuji 8200 Camera

    • Michael

      This is not about your superzoom. Move away (5-10 meters) and zoom in to the desired size.

      • Valery A.

        Then you can forget about blur. Olga, come back, up to 1-2m to the model in the case of a chest and waist portrait, zoom in, open the aperture to the full, it is desirable that the background is far behind the model.

        • Michael

          There will also be no effect

    • Oleg

      Better to check in practice. Take a camera, any person you know, and go out to any suitable location - so that there is enough space to move away from the object and so that the background behind the object is farther from it. That is, so that the object does not stand against the wall or a few meters from it, but even further away. Next, select the aperture priority mode, set it to the minimum value. Equivalent focal length can be started immediately from 135 mm or even 200 mm. Next, set it to 300 mm, move further so that the object hits its full height again, shoot, and so on. Further at home, on the big screen, see what kind of blur you get.

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