Blur Background

[dreya]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8268/8700423751_f1c3c61391_o.jpg

Hello everybody,

I am using a OLYMPUS E-PM 1, with kit lens 14-45mm, f/3.5 - 5.6.
Now, I want to create the blur background as seen in the picture above. (Link)

I have been trying to use the largest aperture (f/3.5) and fastest shutter speed. Also, I made sure the object that I want to be in focus is distant enough from the background. Yet, I was not able to create the blurry background. Is it because of my lens? Do I need to get one with a f/1.4?
I know that the closer I get to the object, the more out-of-focus will be the background. Thing is, I want to do whole-body shots like in the picture with an out-of-focus background.

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[cgipson1]

dreya,

Bokeh (blur) is a function of several things, including lens, sensor size, distance to subject, distance to background, focal length, and aperture. Basically get close to your subject, use a large aperture (small F Stop for a small DOF) with the background in the distance a bit. Easy! This may help... Online Depth of Field Calculator

for instance ... 45mm Focal Length at a subject distance of 2 meters... there will be .33 meters of Depth of Field (sharpness) with your focal point approximately centered in that DOF. Anything past 2.18 meters will be blurred.. the farther it is, the more blurred.

 

[dreya]

Thanks for the reply.
The thing is when I get close to my subject, I won't be able to capture the whole body with 45mm. :/

 

[cgipson1]

Thanks for the reply.
The thing is when I get close to my subject, I won't be able to capture the whole body with 45mm. :/

As close as you can and still get the shot you want! Using below 45mm could start introducing Perspective Distortion... which is unattractive! But again.. it depends on the distance to the subject. Perspective Distortion Effects Planned or Accidental

 

[KmH]

It also depends on the lens and how much field curvature it has.
As Charlie points out, several factors are involved in controlling DoF.

What you want is to control DoF so you have a shallow depth of field.
A background blurred by controlling depth-of-field (DoF) is adjustable.

Bokeh isn't adjustable.
Bokeh refers to the aesthetic quality (rendering) of blurred image elements, but not to the blur itself.
To adjust bokeh, you have to use a different model of lens.

Some lens models produce very smooth, creamy, pleasing bokeh.
Some lens models produce very jarring, jittery, nervous looking bokeh.
But pretty much all but very wide angle lenses can produce a blurred background

 

[UnknownBro]

looking at the exif data on that pic it was shot at 1.4 so in this case the bokeh was achieved that way. Another way you can get a look similar to this is to be farther away and zoom in as much as you can.

 

[Derrel]

If you are using the largest aperture, then you are also in the very-shortest focal length range of that lens. On a small-sensor camera, with a short focal length lens, depth of field is very "deep". You would do better to increase the focal length somewhat, and use a slightly-smaller aperture to get less depth of field.

The issue with a small-sensor camera like the one you have is that at moderate apertures, like f/4.5 to f/5.6, there is a LOT of depth of field at the picture angle shown in that shot of the young woman...that shot has a wide angle of view; to get a wide angle of view, from a close distance like that, AND achieve shallow DOF, an ultra-fast lens, like an f/1.4, is a very handy thing to have. A larger-format camera is also nice.

The thing is--the smaller-sensor cameras allow photographers to shoot "street" and "social photography" situations with deep depth of field, without need for heroic technique or ultra-elevated ISO settings. The "look" you wish to achieve is the exact opposite of what your camera and lens are best at doing. One of the moderate-length, ultra-wide aperture prime lenses from Olympus would be really,really nice to have.

 

[David444]

.

 

[KmH]

You're right, I didn't tell the whole story. And how far was the camera from the flower? Four to six inches?

Now do a full length person shot with no distortion of the person.

An 8 mm on a 1.6x crop body, set to f/2.8, with a point of focus (PoF) distance of 4 feet has DoF from 2 feet to infinity - Online Depth of Field Calculator