 BetterPhoto Member |
How to Shoot Photos with Blurry Backgrounds Hi, I have a digital Canon Powershot s400 camera, and I was wondering if that camera is able to create or shoot photos that has a blurred background, but the subject is clear. I don't know what to call that shot and if my camera is able to do that ... and how do I do that? Thanks a lot, and I am so happy to see find this site!
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Diane Dupuis |
Hi Ces! I'm a beginner when it comes to these things, but I think you are referring to Depth of Field. My new camera has been doing it, mostly in auto mode (check out my flower pictures posted today and yesterday in my gallery). From what I understand, your aperture is what makes the background fuzzy or not (that is what I understood from my camera's manual - but I really look forward to a pro explaining it to you here). The book says that for the background to be out of focus you must have a large aperture, and to have both near and far objects in focus at the same time you should use a small aperture. ... But I'm hoping someone will confirm that for me ... Good luck and keep in touch!
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Andy |
http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=10260 http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/allDefinitions.php#Depth
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Andy |
http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=10260 http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/allDefinitions.php#Depth
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Andy |
http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=10260 http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/allDefinitions.php#Depth
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Andy |
Sorry I pressed the return key too many too fast. The style is called Selective Focusing, which has to do with the depth-of-field. For the definition of Depth-of-field, please see here: http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/allDefinitions.php#Depth Basically, what you can do is to place the background further away from the subject, come closer to the subject, and use a larger aperture (SMALLER f/number like 2.8). Here is a discussion with your same situation with a similar camera: Hope this helps.
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Dave Cross |
Hi Ces. Loads of useful information here:- http://www.dofmaster.com/articles.html Cheers
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John A. Lind |
Ces, Andy already posted the common technical term for it "Selective Focusing." In order to employ this technique - to control depth of field to make it what you want it - you need to be able to control lens aperture. Controlling lens aperture requires being able to run in an aperture priority or shutter priority auto-exposure mode, or in completely manual exposure mode. It's nearly impossible using a "program" autoexposure mode that selects both aperture AND shutter speed based on luminance level (how much light there is). In Program Mode, BOTH settings are adjusted by the AE system as the amount of light changes. The only possible method I'm aware of that can put lens aperture exactly where you want it (to get the depth of field desired) using Program AE is by being able to control the lighting level (as one can in a studio by changing the lighting power levels) and driving the "program" to the exposure that will use the lens aperture desired. The bad news about the Powershot S400: I truly wish I could tell you something better about how to use this technique with your camera. I use it very, very frequently; the desired depth of field is an important consideration in every photograph I make. There are times I want as much as possible too, not selective focusing. In looking at Canon's specs for the S400, I don't see a practical method for doing so with it.
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Chris |
Be aware that with the majority of digital cameras (other than SLR types), the lenses used are very short focal length (10mm or less) to accommodate the small sensor size. This means that it is nigh impossible to get the out-of-focus background shots that are possible with SLR photography. For example, using f2.8 on a digital point-and-shoot camera (which would normally give a great out-of-focus background with an SLR) is the equivalent of about f15 on an SLR from a depth-of-field (DOF) standpoint. From an exposure standpoint, f2.8 on any camera is f2.8, but unfortunately this is not true for DOF. Even on digital SLRs some of the popular types (like the Canon 300D or Nikon D70) have sensors that are smaller than a 35mm frame by a factor of about 1.5 to 1.6. Thus, even with those the DOF (but not exposure) aperture is effectively multiplied by this number so that f2.8 on a Canon 300D is f2.8 for exposure but around f5 for DOF equivalent compared to a 35mm camera.
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Peter Daniel |
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