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Photography Question 

Tam B. Howland 		 

blur background


I am trying to blur the background but seem to be confused, first do I put the camera on Manual? I changed the f Stop to 4, but my pictures come out white....what am I doing wrong. These are outside pictures.


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February 16, 2008

 
- Carlton Ward

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Carlton Ward's Gallery 		  Hi Tam, there are few things to consider here. What shutter speed & ISO were you using ? Even on a bright sunny day, with ISO 100, adjust your shutter speed until the camera meter is centered. If it is a bright day you will need a really fast shutter speed. You also need to consider the distance from your subject and the distance of the background and the specific lens you are using. There are variables between the way the lenses interpret DOF in relation to subject & background. This will take some practice (and maybe a few notes) as you learn the characteristics of a specific lens. Stating that your picture came out white tells me your capture is over-exposed. Do you have a meter displayed in your viewfinder ? This is what you will need to shoot in manual mode so that you can adjust your shutter speed accordingly.
There are also techniques in Photoshop that can easily create a blurred background. I use a technique where I duplicate the image and create another layer, paste image and apply
"gaussian blur". I then use a paint brush to remove the blur from the image by brushing over the subject which makes the subject sharp again but leaves the background blurred.
I would highly recommend taking a "Proper Exposure" type class here at Better Photo. Learning to get proper exposure is fundamental and the most important thing to know & understand about photography.


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February 16, 2008

 

Tam B. Howland 		  I have a Nikon D80, I have been taking a photo class. From my understanding we were told to set the fstop to 3 or 4 (the lowest I can get my camera to go with this lense 70/300 is 4.5) So if the day is pretty bright what do you think the shutter speed should be? I tried it at 100 and 200.


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February 16, 2008

 

Tam B. Howland 		  and yes I do have a meter display on my viewfinder


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February 16, 2008

 
- Carlton Ward

BetterPhoto Member
Contact Carlton Ward
Carlton Ward's Gallery 		 
 
  1/125s, f/7.1, iso200, 275mm, monopod
1/125s, f/7.1, iso200, 275mm, monopod

Carlton Ward

  
 
Hi Tam, it could be a large range. Make sure ISO is set to 100 or even 50 if your camera allows it and center your meter by selecting whatever speed the meter shows to be the correct exposure. It could be 1/125 or 1/2500 or higher depending on how much light you have. I would try to keep it at 1/125 minimum speed if hand holding and anything faster than that, you shouldn't have to worry about camera shake. I still use a tripod for most of my photos just because it allows me to get the best focus I can get. And again, it will still depend on your distance from the subject and distance from the background to get enough seperation to take advantage of the DOF and provide a nice background. Also try to use a darker background (dark trees, flower bush, grassy hill, etc..) because this will provide more focus to your subject. If the background is lighter in color, it will pull your eyes away from the subject.


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February 16, 2008

 
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