Everyone wants a blurry background in their portraits. The photo automatically looks more professional and polished when the subject is focused and the background is blurred. I used to think only the most professional of photographers have the skill to create blurry backgrounds in their images. Actually, ANYONE can achieve a blurry background in their images.
So, how do you create a blurry background in your photos? The two key points: create depth and setting your lens to a low aperture. Creating depth is creating a distance between your subject or object and the background. Aperture is the size of the opening the lens. Aperture is also known as an “f-stop”. The lower the aperture the more wide the lens is which creates a blurry background. In this post I’ll explain how you can use these two factors to help you capture beautiful photos with a blurry background.
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Creating Depth to achieve Blurry Backgrounds
Below is a picture of a leaf on the ground. It is laid directly against its background. There is very little to no depth when a subject or object is placed against the background.
Now compare this to when I create a 5 feet distance between the leaf and the ground. The photo below was taken with the exact same equipment and settings as the above photo.
You can achieve a blurry background in your photos when you intentionally create depth in your images. Refrain from posing subjects directly against the background if you want a blurry background.
Here is another example of creating distance between the subject and background.
Both of the above photos were taken in the same location with the same settings. In the second photo, depth was created which resulted in a blurry background.
Aperture- the KEY to creating a Blurry Background
Here is an example of how aperture affects your images:
This picture was taken with an aperture of F1.8
This picture is of the same setting but with a higher aperture of F8.0
The difference is huge! The lens that comes with your camera may not be able to go below an aperture of F3.5 or F4.0. In order to get a lower aperture, you will need to purchase an additional lens.
The Cannon 50mm F1.8 lens is a high quality lens and very affordable considering its quality. This lens can achieve an aperture of 1.8 which is definitely capable of producing a blurry background. This lens is on my camera most of the time. You can buy this lens here. This lens does not zoom but is a great lens and produces high quality photos.
If you want a lens that can zoom but also has a low aperture I recommend the Canon 24-70 mm F2.8 zoom lens. You can buy that lens here.
I hope this information has been helpful to you and will help you produce images that you love!
T
