camera lense question

[ryanjennings]

I was out taking pictures of downtown today with my new canon t2i and although it took rather good photos. I am still new, I was messing around and it seemed since I was taking big shots I couldn't get the blur on the background of the photos like I can when I am taking pictures in my house. I am extremely new with this (first day) and I'm wondering if this is because I should buy a new lense or maybe set the apeture to a different setting?

 

[PJL]

It's harder to get that kind of effect on objects that are further away, even at the same aperture setting. The closer you are to your subject, and the farther the background is from it, the more blur you'll get. Longer focal length lenses will get background blur easier than wide angle lenses (f/stop being equal), but you still need to fill the frame, more or less, with your subject, or at least be at the closer side of your focusing range. If you're focusing close to the "infinity" end of your lens' focusing range, you won't get as good results, generally speaking. Also, most kit zoom lenses will decrease your maximum aperture as you zoom out, which will also increase your depth of field and lessen the background blur.