need help!! how to take a certain photo with my new dslr???

[jobilly]

i am new to my dslr, i have a canon 1000d with basic lense and no additional lenses. How do i take pics of people where the background is out of focus/blurry but the subject/person/baby is in focus??
does that make sense?
i want to take some baby photos of my newbie and of my kids together.
i am not very technical, so please be gentle with me..

thank you

[wave]

To get what you require requires a narrow depth of field ie small f number. it also has a relation ship with the distance to the subject. I would try taking picture with a small number and see the results of what you get

[canismajor]

i am new to my dslr, i have a canon 1000d with basic lense and no additional lenses. How do i take pics of people where the background is out of focus/blurry but the subject/person/baby is in focus??
does that make sense?
i want to take some baby photos of my newbie and of my kids together.
i am not very technical, so please be gentle with me..

thank you

In other words, select an aperture of say f11, or f16 to ensure that everything in your viewfinder is in focus. If this ends up with you finding that you now have a shutter speed which is too low, say 1/60, or 1/30 of a second, then increase the ISO speed to say 400, or even higher, but it all depends on how much light there is on the subject. I think most would agree that an ideal shutter speed for a hand-held photo is about 1/125 of a second. Take your time and enjoy experimenting with different speeds and aperture settings, after all, if you don't like it on playback just delete and do it again. That's the beauty of digital. Ask anytime, all the best,Mike.

[graham_c]

Hi
If you want a blurred background, and your kids and baby sharp you need to use a wide aperture which means a low f number on a kit lens about F4 then experiment with the distance between the kids and the background... good luck graham

[jobilly]

thank you for the advise guys, prob is i am still at point and shoot stage... is there an easier way? will a lense do it for me?

[canismajor]

thank you for the advise guys, prob is i am still at point and shoot stage... is there an easier way? will a lense do it for me?

A lens will not do it for you as human input is required with a DSLR. Sure you can place the camera in AUTO mode or PROGRAM, and it will take a picture choosing the settings which are appropriate for the conditions.
However, when personal requirements are needed then you must 'tell' the camera what you need and make your own selection of aperture and shutter speeds. Some photographers choose to mostly shoot in MANUAL mode and do this all the time. As long as you keep checking that the exposure will be ok then it's up to you what settings you choose. Keep trying, we've all been there. All the best.

[wave]

Hi i suggest that you put the camera in av mode this is where you set the aperture. Now set a low number f3.5 is your lowest with a kit 18-55 lens. Now do you want to take these pics in doors if so when then enter the realms of flash or no flash. I would try out doors first to eliminate the need for flash.

[Dilinja]

i am new to my dslr, i have a canon 1000d with basic lense and no additional lenses. How do i take pics of people where the background is out of focus/blurry but the subject/person/baby is in focus??
does that make sense?
i want to take some baby photos of my newbie and of my kids together.
i am not very technical, so please be gentle with me..

thank you

Hi jobilly,

I am very much a newb and am only just starting out myself. To be honest, my camera hasnt even arrived yet

However, I've been doing some reading and watching of videos to try and get a head start on it all. The tutorial I found that made the most sense to me and explained the process in as much language as I could understand was this one:

http://www.dslrtips.com/workshops/Ho...of_field.shtml

I am still very much a beginner. Things like Aperture, DOF, etc still confuse the hell out of me, so thats why I'm doing all this reading. I hope you enjoy the learning curve as much as I am

[Dilinja]

Hi i suggest that you put the camera in av mode this is where you set the aperture. Now set a low number f3.5 is your lowest with a kit 18-55 lens. Now do you want to take these pics in doors if so when then enter the realms of flash or no flash. I would try out doors first to eliminate the need for flash.

I agree wholeheartedly with this advice. I played around with my new camera at the weekend and all I wanted was some shots with my kids in focus and the background blurred. Putting the camera in AV mode and then selecting the widest aperture possible (/f 1.4 with my lens) allowed me to get some really nice shots with very liittle input from me other than pointing and shooting!

There was the odd occasion where I had to manually choose the point of focus for the camera, but for the most part the auto focus selected the subject I wanted it to and then the camera did the rest. I'll post some examples in my gallery this weekend as I'm keen to get some feedback

[Phil Hall]

Hi Jobilly,

For portraits, we’d recommend you use a wide aperture. This will allow you to blow the background out of focus, making your subject the main focus of the shot.

You’re off to a great start with a DSLR – one of their benefits over a compact camera is their ability to blow the background out of focus nicely. How much you’re able to blur the background out of focus does depend on the lens you have however.

The 18-55mm kit lens that comes with your ESO 1000D is a good standard zoom for a variety of shooting situations, but it’s what we call a ‘slow’ lens. With a variable maximum aperture of f/3.5-5.6, the shallow depth-of-field that is more suited to portraits is harder to achieve. This is because the aperture of the lens can open only so far – f/3.5 at 18mm, decreasing to f/5.6 at 55mm. Shooting at f/5.6, the background will not be blown out of focus quite as much as you may like – this is where ‘fast’ lenses come in.

Fast lenses offer large maximum apertures of f/2.8 or even wider at f/1.4, which when used wide-open at their maximum aperture, allow you to achieve really shallow depth-of-field portraits easily.

If you can stretch you budget, Canon offer an excellent 50mm f/1.8 lens for under £100. It may be a bit plasticky, but with a fast maximum aperture of f/1.8, shallow depth-of-field shots are a piece of cake. Pop your EOS 1000D in Av (Aperture Priority mode), dial down the aperture to f/1.8 and shoot away – keep an eye on your shutter speed if shooting inside. If it’s lower than 1/60th of a second, increase the ISO.

Otherwise, if you want to continue using your 18-55mm kit lens, set it to 55mm – this focal length is more pleasing for portraits than wider focal lengths, though at the expense of the maximum aperture. In Av again, set it to the widest aperture possible – in this case f/5.6 and making sure your subject isn’t right in front of a messy background, shoot away. It won’t deliver quite the same results as the 50mm prime, but with a bit of practice, good results are possible.