Ever wanted to know how to make that blurry background you see in cool, creative photos?
For the sake of this post, I’m going to assume you said, “Yes!” ;)
Now get your camera out and get ready to learn…
How to create a blurred background (formally called “Bokeh“)
First, look at the settings on your camera:
Turn the dial to “AV” on a Canon and “A” on a Nikon.
(The following camera shots were taken with my iPhone late at night, please excuse the quality)R
Now your camera is on Aperture Priority mode, which means you only have to worry about setting two things: your ISO and your aperture (also called f-stop) – I’ll walk you through both in this post.
The more blur you want to have, the lower your aperture needs to be set. With a standard lens you’ll be able to go down to about 4.0, but with a 50mm lens you’ll be able to go down to 1.8 or lower (see examples of photos taken at these aperture settings at the bottom of this post).
I use a Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 which costs $103 on BHphotovideo.com (a great place to buy camera equipment online… I get no commission, just sharing what I think).
We normally buy through BHphoto, but actually got this 50mm lens on Craigslist for $50.
Btw, when you drop your camera while taking pictures for a post (like I did a few minutes ago) your lens will break. :(
I’m now in the market for another 50mm lens.
(If you happen to have a company that would like a little PR, I’d love to mention you in exchange for a new 50mm lens.) :)
Ok, back to the tutorial… be careful with your camera!
Set your aperture as low as your camera will allow. For Canon users, you will set your aperture by turning the dial next to the shutter release button to the left or right. I’ve not used a Nikon before so I can’t speak to that, but it’s probably similar.
You will find a number on your display screen (on the back of your camera or on the top of your camera) with an “F” by it. That’s your aperture (also called f-stop). In the following photo mine is set to F1.8 (the lowest my lens will go).
In order to get a good picture you will need to set your ISO to the appropriate level. Here are some basic guidelines/places to start.
100 in bright light outside
400 in the shade
1600 inside in low light
6400 in a dimly lit room
You will know your ISO is set correctly by looking at your shutter speed (see the number in the photo just above that reads 1/20).
Opinions vary, but I like to keep my bottom shutter speed number above 80 (1/80) to avoid camera shake/blur on the subject of my photo (much different than background blur). If my subjects are moving I like to have my bottom number above 125 (1/125) to keep from having motion blur on my subjects.
If your shutter speed is consistently below 80 (or 125 for motion) increase your ISO.
Btw, your shutter speed is shown in your view finder (the little hole you look through) with every half-press of the shutter release button (the picture taking button).
In the above picture, the number on the left is the bottom number of your shutter speed (in this case 1/40), the second number is your aperture (1.8), the third number is your ISO (100), and I have absolutely no idea what the last number (9).
Keep your eye on the far left number (your shutter speed), if you see it consistently drop below 80 increase your ISO. If you see it consistently go above 200 (unless you’re shooting action) decrease your ISO (move it in the direction of 100).
…………
Now, you’re set!
Here are some examples and what my camera was set on (all photos were taken on AV mode):
ISO 1600 f/1.8 shutter speed 1/60 (a little lower than I normally like it)
ISO 100 f/2.8 shutter speed 1000 (it's high, but my ISO couldn't go lower)
ISO 100 f/2.8 shutter speed 1/500
ISO 100 f/4.0 shutter speed 1/60 (again lower than I'd normally like, but most photos were shooting above 80)
Btw, you may wonder why you’d want to blur the background. Let me give you a few reasons why…
It makes nearly anything look cool!
ISO 100 f/2.8 shutter speed 1/1600
It makes the subject stand out.
ISO 100 f/2.8 shutters speed 1/1250
And it detracts from a less than appealing background (photo taken by my littlest one while I took an instagram picture of him)
ISO 100 f/4.0 shutter speed 1/200
Btw, I’m curious… do you prefer written tutorials or video tutorials? I’d love to hear from YOU as I plan future photography posts. Thanks! ♥
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
awesome tutorial, lady! thank you for teaching us what you know. i like both written and video, actually i prefer written WITH video :)
Thanks, Eryn! Ok, I’ll do a written with video for you in the future. :)
Great tutorial. I wonder. do you have a tutorial for how people create videos with an older video playing on the side (now sound) and then the current video as the main video playing on the same screen? Hope that makes sense.
Sorry it took me so long to reply. I don’t have a tutorial for that. When I embed a video I use youtube or vimeo and they have videos on the side, I think. Wish I could help more with that.
No worries. Guess what? I figured it out! Well actually, it took a little time. I posted a question in the YouTube groups and someone said that you do it in your video editor. So I went to YouTube and searched for how to do it. It’s called Picture in Picture. I have a Mac and did it there. It’s really easy too :-)
Thank you, thank you for this! You are such a blessing to me and I’m learning so much from you. Thank you for taking the time to write such informative AND visually beautiful posts. I love the post just as you have done it…all laid out as a resource I can continually refer to, complete with pictures to SHOW me what to do! I’m SO thankful to have had the privilege to meet you at relevant, blessings to you my friend!!
You are SO SWEET, Jacque! Thank you! xoxo
(Hit send before I was done replying…)
I, likewise, am so thankful to have met you, sweet sister!
So the secret’s out – I’ve always wondered how to do this and been overawed by professional photographers achieving this effect (but assumed it was reserved for $1k + cameras). Thanks – I plan to use your tips!
You’re welcome. :) Thanks for taking the time to comment!
yea!! Now I can read these posts and actually try them out! just took some cute ones of my 6 yr old with the tree in the background then a pic of his newborn Christmas ornament on the tree. love it! Now I think I need to ask for a better lens that can zoom more and have a lower F stop. The lowest I could get mine was 3.8. When I had the ISO at 6400 it wouldn’t go lower than 5.8. Can’t wait for the next Mamas Write Conference when you do your photography session. wink wink. =)
lol – wink, wink*
When your lens is zoomed your fstop won’t go as low as when your lens is in normal position (don’t know any better way to describe that).
The 50mm lens is the best $100 you can spend on your camera equipment (in my opinion). It won’t zoom, so you’ll have to use your feet to get close up shots, but you’ll LOVE the f/1.8 function!!
Glad to hear your getting good shots with these tips!!
Thanks so much! I just got a Canon and have a lot to learn!!!!
I have always had a simple point and shoot camera but LOVE photography. My hubby surprised me with the Canon Rebel t3i. I can’t wait to learn more.
Thanks to Pinterest, I found your site. I will be looking frequently now :)
I love (simple)written tutorials since I some of the computers I use have trouble loading videos.
Thanks again!!
What a sweet husband and great surprise!
I’m glad you came by through pinterest (an awesome place to find photography tutorials). I’m just learning myself, but have fun sharing what I’m learning every Wednesday.
I look forward to getting to know you, Lindsey!
♥ Michelle
This comment could be late-but I prefer the written ones, only because I can read it as slow or fast as I want. That being said, lots of photos help.
I have a Nikon, by the way.
Thanks for your input, Anna! I wish I knew more about Nikon’s, but I think they’re pretty similar. I’ll keep you in mind in future tutorials. :)
I think my brain is on photography over-load! I don’t have a camera in hand (yet!), so I don’t have anything to practice with. I have been trying to take in as much info as possible before I get my new camera, which may be a bad idea. I’m having a hard time understanding ISO and shudder speed! I really appreciate all the information you give along with photo examples! I will be visiting more often when I get my shiny new camera =)
Fun! Are you getting it this Christmas? Do you know what kind you’re going to get yet?
Everything will make much more sense when you have your camera to play around with!
I got a Canon T2i last Christmas, and have been enjoying it. I watched your video on M mode, and did the trick (as best I could) to capture the glow of the tree. (It is on my blog.)
Anyhow, the lens I have is the 18-55mm and won’t go that low on fstop. What can I increase to get the ornaments to be in focus more on the tree? The lights glow but the ornaments seem so out of focus.
Also in the pics above, did you use the 50MM lens outdoors too? I thought is was for low light?
Thanks much I am enjoying learning more from you.
Michelle
Sorry it took so long to reply… Looks like you figured things out with the photo of your children at the tree. There are two things you could try for the other photo, that you may have learned already… use the remote timer so you don’t press on the camera shutter release causing some camera shake blur. And use manual focus instead of auto focus – your camera may have a hard time focusing on the ornaments in the low light.
The 50mm is typically called a low light lens because the low aperture allows more light to come in. In bright light settings the low aperture created a wonderful blurred background. So, it’s not really just for low light, it’s just called that since it does the job so well. Hope that makes sense. :)
♥ Michelle
Found your tutorial on Pinterest.
Couple questions for you.
1. I want to turn the quality down so that I can quickly upload to the internet AND still be able to print quality photos when wanted. How low is too low?
2. You mentioned turning the aperture down as low as it will go to get the blurred background. Mine only goes to 5.6. So unless I get a different lense, I wont be able to get big blur?
3. How do I know when to use M and when to use AV?
I’m sure these questions are answered somewhere…but I JUST got my camera. Still learning and playing and don’t really have anyone around here that can answer my questions for me.
Hi Michelle!
I have the quality set to large jpeg in camera (RAW if I want to do shoot stock photography). I then change the size on the computer for the internet… I use Lightroom and Photoshop, but picnik has an easy resizer. However, if you really want to change the size in your camera, you could go down to 5megapixels (according to my sweet husband). :)
Nope, with 5.6 you won’t be able to get a big blur, but you can still get some. If you’re able to change lenses, the 50mm is a WONDERFUL lens for just $100. :)
I’ll write a post about when to change from M to AV and back soon!
Hope you’re having a great time learning! Feel free to ask questions here anytime. It just might take me a bit to reply. Sorry about that! ♥ Michelle
thank you, you have been a big help to some one that is trying to learn but a little on the slow side thank you
Thanks, lovely and simple with a dash of humour!
Thanks so much for your tutorials! I like the written tutorials myself. Very informative!
super nice web site and you have good attitude and friendly.
both is good, the written info , and the videos… a you tube site is an easy way to get the videos available, and this site is great for the text with pics.
thank you
very nice site
michael
Thank you so much for the tutorial! I’ve searched everywhere for something like this. Everything you wrote, the reference pictures…I can follow these and learn!
On my way to Bodie CA this weekend and will definitely put to use what I’ve learned from you today.