Home >> Hobbies >> Photography

How to Adjust the Aperture to Get a Blurry Background

While digital photography has enabled photographers to make significant changes to pictures in post-production using advanced photo-editing programs, it is still best to achieve the desired result at the time the picture is shot. This is true when you are trying to get a blurry background in your pictures to add emphasis to the subject matter of your picture. This blurry background is the result of a very shallow depth-of-field caused by using a lens at its widest aperture.

Things You'll Need

Lens with a focal length between 50 mm and 135 mm

Instructions

- 1
  Compose the picture you want to photograph and position your model or subject in front of a background that is fairly even in color. A background of trees or parkland is a good selection. If the background has a very bright object in it, it will compete with the subject for the viewer's eye, so avoid this.
- 2
  Attach a standard-to-mid-telephoto lens to your camera. A lens with a focal length between 50 mm to 135 mm is a good selection for this type of picture.
- 3
  Turn your camera on and set the exposure mode to "Aperture priority." In this mode you have control of the lens opening -- also known as the aperture -- and the camera will select the shutter speed for the best exposure.
- 4
  Turn the input dial on your camera to the smallest number available for the lens you have attached. The smaller the number, the larger the opening of the lens, which creates a very shallow depth-of-field.
- 5
  Hold the camera to your eye, place the center focusing point on the model's eye, press the shutter release halfway down, re-compose the frame and press the shutter release all the way down to take the picture.

Photography