How to Blur Background

[KmH]

Actually, foreground and background blur is aka depth-of-field. The word bokeh was derived from a Japanese word 'boke' by Photo Techniques magazine editor Mike Johnston in 1997. Japanese use of the word 'boke' is in the sense of a mental haze or senility, or just as a haze, or blur.

Bokeh is not adjustable. The only way to get better, or worse, bokeh is to use a different make/model lens. Lens design and construction determine the 'quality' of the bokeh any lens can produce. More specifically, the aesthetic quality of blurred image elements is a function of the Circle of Confusion a lens produces.

Consumer grade lenses generally produce less pleasing bokeh than do professional grade lenses. Pro grade lenses usually have superior optics that have minimal optical aberrations, more aperture blades, and the aperture blades have rounded profiles and rounded edges, when compared to consumer grade lenses.

 

[TheLost]

It has been hinted at by other people... but nobody has come out and said it... so here is what you need to do:

Zoom out to your max zoom (220mm).. Set your camera aperture to f/5.6.. get as close to your subject as possible... Take the picture.. *Boom*.. blown out background.

Now read some of the links posted by other people to understand why

 

[scorpion_tyr]

If you were at f/3.5 you were probably at 18mm focal length. That wide angle will make a very deep depth of field. Turning down the aperture is only one of many ways to get a shallow DOF. If the 18-200mm is the only lens you have the easiest thing to do would be to set the camera in Av, turn it to 3.5, and then zoom all the way in so you're at 200mm. Now get as close to your subject as possible. For a portrait let her face take up the full frame. You might notice your aperture reads 5.6, don't worry that's because the maximum aperture at that focal length for that lens is f/5.6. That should blur your background out quite a bit. Opening your aperture up usually only helps when you're at 35-50mm of focal length or more.

 

[enzodm]

Depth of Field Table

 

[NikhilBose]

What focal length and how far away was you background?

I used f 3.5 and the background was around 6ft away.

Again: what focal length did you use? :meh:

With f:3'5 and 18 mm it is possible to get not a bit of blur, being the background only 6 feet away.

Yes you are correct I used 18mm. And I was very close to the subject.

It seems like blurring background is not an easy task. I need to study a lot.
I will try again changing with different focal length and f/stop value and see if I get the desired effect.

Thanks,
Nikhil

 

[NikhilBose]

Thanks

 

[DiskoJoe]

How close was the background behind the subject. The further away the background is the more the photo will blur. Like this:


Lizzy - 11/100: 100 Strangers by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

 

[enzodm]

Depth of Field Table

try it.

 

[Peter4]

How close was the background behind the subject. The further away the background is the more the photo will blur. Like this:


Lizzy - 11/100: 100 Strangers by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

Good shot.

 

[DiskoJoe]

How close was the background behind the subject. The further away the background is the more the photo will blur. Like this:


Lizzy - 11/100: 100 Strangers by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

Good shot.

Thanks. Simple job to make a pretty girl look good.