PHOTOGRAPH LIKE PROFESSIONALS : BLURRED BACKGROUND

The foreground razor sharp, the background beautifully blurred - this is the goal of many amateur photographers. Whether in food, portrait, product or nature photography, the blurred background immediately draws attention to the sharp subject and the picture looks much more professional and beautiful.

In this article, we explain how you can achieve this effect with a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR).

It's all about the depth of field

The secret is: depth of field! Many also say depth of field. Depth of field, depth of field, whatever you call it, it's about the area that the photographer / camera focuses. With a large depth of field, a large area of ​​the image is in focus. With a shallow depth of field, only a small area, for example only the foreground or only the background. This shallow depth of field ensures the desired effect of the blurred background.

The depth of field can essentially be influenced by the following factors: aperture, distance to the object and focal length.

1. The aperture

One of the most important factors is the aperture. This determines how much light falls on the camera sensor. The f-numbers are a bit confusing: The wider the aperture is open, i.e. the more light comes through, the lower the f-number (e.g. F1.8). If the aperture is very closed and only lets in very little light, the aperture number is high (e.g. F22).

For a shallow depth of field, the following applies: the wider the aperture, the better! The goal should always be a wide-open aperture.

For manual setting of the aperture, you should switch from automatic to aperture preselection mode of the camera (A or AV). Here the aperture can be adjusted manually, exposure time and ISO value adjust automatically. The f-number is usually selected using a small rotary control. On my Canon, it's right next to the shutter release button.

Lens with closed aperture

Closed aperture (f-number high -> F22). Lots of depth of field!

Lens with the aperture open

Open aperture (f-number low -> F7.1). Shallow depth of field. With a completely open aperture such as F1.8, no more slats are visible!

2 .: The distance to the object

The closer the camera is to the subject, the shallower the depth of field and the greater the desired blur in the background. This is why nature photographs without a foreground, for example a mountain panorama or a view over the city, often have a very large depth of field, ie the entire image is sharp. Because here the distance from the camera to the object is extremely large. It is also helpful if the foreground and background are as far apart as possible.

3 .: The focal length

Focal length, what else was that? If you zoom in on an object, you increase the focal length. The larger the focal length, the narrower the image angle, the image section and the magnification factor. And: the larger the focal length, the smaller the depth of field. In other words: if you want a blurred background, you should always zoom in as close as possible to an object and thus get the maximum focal length out of your lens. It is better to zoom in to the maximum and then go back a little - this is more likely to nicely expose an object.

The formula for happiness

We summarize again which points lead to an image with a sharp subject and a blurred background:

1. Open aperture - small f-number
2. Small distance between the camera and the subject
3. The subject should be as far away from the background as possible
4. Use maximum focal length - take full advantage of the camera's zoom

Great effects can already be created with the A or AV mode of the DSLR. And if you want more, you can invest in a more powerful lens with which the aperture can be opened even wider. And now have fun trying it out!