Creative photography

[kaj]

Hi again,

I've seen some portrait photos of people I like. The background looks blurry but the person looks very sharp. How do you do this?

[ashley]

I've allways wondered myself how do they do that, I think it looks really cool.

[Mike54]

Hello kaj and ashley,

What you're referring to is called "bokeh". It's a Japanese word (I think it means fuzzy) that's used to describe the out of focus blur quality of a camera lens.
Basically when a lens is focussed on a subject, the image of that subject should be sharp but depending on the depth of field selected, by means of lens focal length and aperture, details behind (and in front of) the subject will be out of focus.
To get more technical details just do a search for bokeh on the internet.

[ShutterbugGail]

As Mike pointed out, the camera's aperture influences the degree of depth in a photo, called depth of field. The wider an aperture, the less depth of field (DOF) in a photo. If you can't adjust the aperture on your digital camera, many have a portrait mode which will give a shallow DOF, in other words, the background will be more blurred than the main subject. The blurred background helps the main subject stand out more.

Some other ways to create a shallow DOF:

- Use a long focal length (zoom in on the subject).

- place the subject close to the camera with the background further away.

Here's some additional information on DOF:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/taking-pictures/depth-of-field.htm

Incidently, you can create shallow depth-of-filed with image editing software. You use the selection tool to outline the main subject, invert the selection, then blur the background (always work on a copy of the original, not the original itself, in case you goof.

You can also create shallow DOF using layers. Give me some time and I'll create a tutorial at the main site about  how to do this. I'll post a link to it here when complete.

[ShutterbugGail]

As promised, here's an illustrated tutorial on how to create a blurred background with image editing software using layers, and how to tweak it for shallow depth-of-field:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/how-to-create-depth-of-field-using-layers/index.htm

The tutorial is illustrated with Photoshop, but any image editing software which as layers can be used. The tutorial is on the intermediate level. There are also links to an Introduction to Layers for beginners and a free image editing program with layering capability.

[Mark Scott]

hi there. i am new to digital photography and have a fuji a340.  i am interested in taking pictures like these, but according to my user manual, the aperture is set automatically.

is that what most cameras are like?  is there a way to take these shots if it is set automatically?  i don't have any photo editing software, but if that was the only way to do it, then i could get some.

thanks.

-Mark

[Deb]

Hi Mark, many digital cameras allow for manual operation. In manual mode, you select your aperture and the shutterspeed in a combination that exposes correctly. There are also cameras that have aperture (and/or shutter priority) modes. In these modes you select either the aperture (or the shutter speed) and the camera selects the corresponding shutter speed (or aperture) for you.

Your camera model features a "portrait" mode. Have you tried that one? It should give you a shorter depth-of-field.  

[mark scott]

thanks for the quick reply.  i have not used the portrait mode. i always use the "auto" mode since 90% of my pictures are just point and shoot. i will experiment with that when i get home tonite.

thanks.

[Deb]

I think you'll find "portrait" mode to be as straight forward to use as using the fully automatic mode.  

You also have other modes from which you can select. Get a feel for what your camera can do. Here's what I'd suggest ... go outside and frame up a scene in your camera that has something in the foreground and something in the background (like a couple of trees or houses, etc.). Then take two shots of this scene using your automatic mode and your portait mode. Make sure you focus and frame your scene the exact same way for both images. Next, look at them on your computer so you can see the detail. See the difference in the depth-of-field? This is due to the camera selecting different apertures (and adjusting the shutterspeed and/or ISO accordingly).

As you get a feel for what your camera can do, you can use those features where they are best applied. Experiment and play around with them. Be creative and have fun.  

[ShutterbugGail]

Here's some information on a variety of scene modes. Every time a manufacture comes out with a new camera they seem to come up with a new scene mode. These are some of the most common ones:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-scene-modes/index.htm