Today we will look at one of the most common questions asked by beginner photographers – how to properly create a blurred background in a photo. Using this technique, you can highlight the subject of the shot, as well as add an additional artistic effect to the image and draw attention to certain details.
Let’s start by defining the terms – "Bokeh" – a definition of the blurred area in a photo, which comes to us from the Japanese language.
To achieve this effect, you don’t necessarily need the most expensive lens – the key is to use the correct shooting technique to obtain a blurred image. Let’s look at what rules you need to follow to do this.
Shallow depth of field and wide aperture
In simple terms, the depth of field of a photo directly depends on parameters such as the aperture value. After all, it is used to set the size of the light passing through the lens.
The aperture value used in modern cameras is a separate number called F. And the resulting image, or rather its blur, depends on this setting – the smaller the number, the more open the aperture is, and the larger the F value, the more closed the aperture is.
Thus, it can be concluded that the smaller the F value (and the wider the aperture), the more the objects in the foreground or background can be blurred – depending on the focus point.
If we look at examples and summarize the above data, we can highlight several key factors.
- For sharper and more detailed images, you need a good lens and a large F value.
- For a more blurred background, you need to set a small F value.
- You can practice with the settings on the SLR Simulator page.
In this image, you can clearly see the camera settings and values.
Focal length
In simple terms, how blurred a photo (or its background) is will also depend on the focal length. This is a term that refers to the distance to your lens and its angle of view at given settings.
The same F value and depth of field can be changed by the length of your lens – the more you magnify the subject through the lens, the shallower the depth of field in the photo.
If you want to specifically blur the background, you can use telephoto lenses and set the lens zoom to its maximum level.
In this photo, you can determine the distance to the subject and see the result.
Summary – how to get a blurred background in a photo during shooting:
- Open the aperture as wide as possible
- Position the lens close to the subject and at the highest zoom level
- Keep the background as far away from the subject as possible
Read about how to create a blurred background in Adobe Photoshop.
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