Making the background blurry?

[pixiedust_photo]

Ok...I am getting frustrated here...I have a Canon 50D and I am trying to improve my photo skills and I have been trying to get the background blurry.

I thought to get the background blurry was to increase my F # . Is that not true? It is not working for me

Christine

PS>..I wish I could know everything about my camera!

[Bluenoser]

DOF - depth of field. Try shooting something at f/2.8 and then take the same shot at f/11 or f/16. Then look at the background.

The way I learned DOF and F stops was to take a dozen oranges and line them up in a row, about one foot between each one. Focus on the same spot each time and adjust your F stop in increments of 1, taking a photo for every F stop your lens has. I learned quick with that one.


PS - you can know everything about your camera. The trick is to learn a little bit at a time, then practice what you've learned until you're quite comfortable with it. Then move on and learn another part. Patience is a virtue.

[Jim Bryant]

Remember this. The larger the f-stop (aperture) number F64, 32, to f8.0 will give you a large DOP where everything is in pretty much in focus from you to subject and beyond. A smaller f-stop (aperture) such as 1.4 to 5.6 will give you a limited depth of field from the subject and beyond, which the lower numbers 4.0, 3.5, 2.8 and lower will render the best out of focus backgrounds.

[pixiedust_photo]

So maybe I should just keep my F# really low and then maybe it will acheive what I am looking for.

[private]

It also has to do with how you are away from the subject. Can you post an example?

[Free]

Try reading this - Introduction to Aperture in Digital Photography

Or go to a DOF calculator - Online Depth of Field Calculator

[LoveDSLR]

Hard to visualize blurry background from fast lenses? Try browsing photos from here (refresh the page for next set of images):

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens Sample Photos and Specifications
Canon EF 85mm F1.2 L USM (II) Lens Sample Photos and Specifications
Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM Lens Sample Photos and Specifications

[mrodgers]

Originally Posted by pixiedust_photo

So maybe I should just keep my F# really low and then maybe it will acheive what I am looking for.

This is where your thinking can be confusing. The f-stop number is the opposite of what you are thinking (low and high).

The f-stop is a fraction, focal length/aperture diameter (might not be exact, I think it's aperture diameter. If it's something else, that doesn't matter, the fact that it's a fraction is what matters.)

Cameras will generally just display the number, 32, 16, 8, 2.8, etc. What that designates is the bottom number of the fraction. In reality, it should be read as f/32, f/16, f/2.8, etc. Thus, f/2.8 is actually a larger number than f/8, meaning the aperture is larger.

1/2 is larger than 1/8. f/2 would be larger than f/8.

The larger the aperture, the more blur you are going to have in the background.