Close up question

[crocko]

Okay...I thought I knew how to take this kind of picture, but apparently I've forgotten.


Let's say I have a close object. I want to focus in on it and would like the background of the picture to appears fuzzy/blurred. What kind of camera settings/changes do I need to make?

[VVFF]

Okay...I thought I knew how to take this kind of picture, but apparently I've forgotten.


Let's say I have a close object. I want to focus in on it and would like the background of the picture to appears fuzzy/blurred. What kind of camera settings/changes do I need to make?

Depends how close you want to get. However, my best guess of what your asking for would be a long focal length macro lens with a low aperture.

[crocko]

I'm a bit of a newbie. What would be an example of a low aperture number and a high aperture?

[waytoomanywebkinz]

someone will be along with a better, more technical explanation - but I'll give it a shot! You need to change the aperture - so that the number is smaller - the smaller the number, the more blurry the background.

[waytoomanywebkinz]

if the aperture is 1.8 - that will give you a much blurrier background than 8.0 - and 23 will be much clearer than the 8.0. So the lower the number - the blurrier the background.

[VVFF]

I'm a bit of a newbie. What would be an example of a low aperture number and a high aperture?

Can you tell us exactly how close you mean by "close"? Also, what brand camera do you have?

[Pea-n-Me]

You are talking about shallow depth of field.

If you are using a point and shoot or bridge camera, you can use aperture priority and the largest aperture (smallest number) possible. Or you can use portrait mode to get a similar effect. This type of camera may be limited in how much background is out of focus as the aperture only goes so wide.

If you're using a dSLR, you can also use aperture priority and your largest aperture, ie lowest number. Or you can use portrait mode also. Depending on the lens you use, you can get a very dramatic shallow depth of field as you may be able to go very wide open.

[jann1033]

if you have programs or scenes or some such presets on your camera dial use the macro/close up or portrait settings. i think the macro if you have one will be sharper since sometimes the portrait settings add a little softness to hide the imperfections.
if you want to manually set the aperture it also depends on how close the background is to the object.
if you are taking say a closeup of a flower or some thing i wouldn't go lower that f4 or so...if you go to someplace like f1.8 or even 2.8 the whole thing probably won't be in focus. try a couple out. sometimes even at f5.6-f6 if the background isn't right next to the object it might be out of focus enough . that way the whole object will be in focus. if you can move the object, put it farther away from the background