couples, f-stops and sharpness

[ewick]

So here goes a very silly question. How do I get a shallow depth of field if I'm shooting a couple (outside)? I've only shot single subjects and I have always shot wide open. So I'm going to go try different settings to try to figure out how to get both subjects sharp but yet blur my back ground. I tried f-4 60th with an ocf F-4 to try and blur my background and 60th to get ambient light (in a room) but my subjects weren't sharp. I am going to go out tomorrow and use my 80-200 at like 5.6 to see what I can get. any help with this would be highly appreciated.

 

[Benco]

Stand way back and use a long lens.

 

[Buckster]

So here goes a very silly question. How do I get a shallow depth of field if I'm shooting a couple (outside)? I've only shot single subjects and I have always shot wide open. So I'm going to go try different settings to try to figure out how to get both subjects sharp but yet blur my back ground. I tried f-4 60th with an ocf F-4 to try and blur my background and 60th to get ambient light (in a room) but my subjects weren't sharp. I am going to go out tomorrow and use my 80-200 at like 5.6 to see what I can get. any help with this would be highly appreciated.

When you've dialed your aperture to wide open and your shutter speed to a speed that allows you to capture the ambient light correctly with that wide open aperture, but that shutter speed isn't fast enough to prevent blur from camera shake, you need to modify your camera's stability to compensate.

That means shooting from a tripod or other stable platform, if possible. If nothing else, find something to lean on or brace yourself against, like a chair or table or wall (if indoors). Hold your arms in tightly to your body when shooting. Take a deep breath, let half out, then squeeze the trigger, rather than stab at it with your finger. I also recall this trick and, though I've never actually tried it myself, it might help you:



Outdoors during the day, your shutter speed with a wide open aperture will likely be fast enough to get you what you want without stability issues. If that turns out not to be true, the same stability solutions as above apply, replacing chairs, tables and walls with trees, car hoods or doors, sign posts, picnic tables, or even a prone position on the ground with the elbows acting like tripod feet.

Shooting from further away with a longer lens works as long as your background from subject is far enough away also. No matter which lens you choose though, besides shooting wide open on the aperture, get as close as possible to the subject as defined by the framing, and get the background as far away from the subject as possible. That will allow you to achieve the shallow depth of field look you desire that sets your subject apart from the background.

 

[cynicaster]

Thanks for posting that video Buckster, I'm heading out in a few minutes to pick up the parts.

Another thing that I find helps in a pinch when you're in low light without a tripod is to set the 2-second timer.

 

[ewick]

So here goes a very silly question. How do I get a shallow depth of field if I'm shooting a couple (outside)? I've only shot single subjects and I have always shot wide open. So I'm going to go try different settings to try to figure out how to get both subjects sharp but yet blur my back ground. I tried f-4 60th with an ocf F-4 to try and blur my background and 60th to get ambient light (in a room) but my subjects weren't sharp. I am going to go out tomorrow and use my 80-200 at like 5.6 to see what I can get. any help with this would be highly appreciated.

When you've dialed your aperture to wide open and your shutter speed to a speed that allows you to capture the ambient light correctly with that wide open aperture, but that shutter speed isn't fast enough to prevent blur from camera shake, you need to modify your camera's stability to compensate.

That means shooting from a tripod or other stable platform, if possible. If nothing else, find something to lean on or brace yourself against, like a chair or table or wall (if indoors). Hold your arms in tightly to your body when shooting. Take a deep breath, let half out, then squeeze the trigger, rather than stab at it with your finger. I also recall this trick and, though I've never actually tried it myself, it might help you:



Outdoors during the day, your shutter speed with a wide open aperture will likely be fast enough to get you what you want without stability issues. If that turns out not to be true, the same stability solutions as above apply, replacing chairs, tables and walls with trees, car hoods or doors, sign posts, picnic tables, or even a prone position on the ground with the elbows acting like tripod feet.

Shooting from further away with a longer lens works as long as your background from subject is far enough away also. No matter which lens you choose though, besides shooting wide open on the aperture, get as close as possible to the subject as defined by the framing, and get the background as far away from the subject as possible. That will allow you to achieve the shallow depth of field look you desire that sets your subject apart from the background.

Thank you for the reply. I am going to test out settings a lil later. Ideally I would like to blur the background (gonna shoot in a park so distance to subject shouldn't be a problem) and light them up with a strobe. i will also use a telephoto lens and I will post the results tomorrow night. Any info I get from here is highly appreciated.

 

[ewick]

so here is the result I got. I used a 80-200 at like 5.6. and the video buckster posted up was very helpful.



MG] val0026 copy by EricJimenezPhoto, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[TonysTouch]

Google DOF calculator. Try different combinations of aperture, distance and focal length to find a DOF that is slightly larger than the width of who you are shooting. This will help you get a blurred out background and keep your subjects sharp no matter where you shoot at.