A NICE BLURRY BACKGROUND, AHHH.
Does your brain start to spin when you start talking about ISO, shutter speed, andĀ aperture? Not to fear, my friends! It is really quite simple. You just need to take it piece by piece and understand each term. So lets talk a bit about aperture, shall we?
When you adjust the aperture on your camera you are adjusting the amount of light that is coming into your camera through your lens but you are also adjusting the amount of blurriness in your photo. (If you are reading this and thinking…aperture? I never adjust my aperture because I have my camera set on auto…tisk, tisk. It’s time to get it off auto! š ) An example of a small aperture is f/22 (“small” referring to the opening of the lens) whereas an example of a very large aperture is f/1.8. (I know it sounds like that should be switched around but stay with me…)
AĀ largeĀ aperture (small number, ie: f/1.8) =Ā lots of blur, a small plane of focus
AĀ smallĀ aperture (large number, ie: f/16) =Ā less blur, a large plane of focus
Let’s take a look at some examples:
See the range in background blur?
As you can see, having a very small aperture of f/11 gave me a wider focal plane thus making more of my picture in focus. Whereas having a very large aperture of f/1.8 or f/2.8 gave me a narrow focal range thus making more of my picture blurry.
There you have it, now go out there and take some blurry background photos!
If there is anything I can do to support you, please let me know. Keep capturing your memories!Warmly,
~Katie
~Katie
2 Freebies: Grab my FREE video,Ā Top Photography Struggles Answered! Click here:Ā http://keytopictures.com/free/Ā AND as a bonus download my highly acclaimed ebook, InstaLove: The Key to Creating Gorgeous Photos with your Phone.
Kellee says
Thank you for breaking that down!!!!
Mandi says
Oh my gosh, I love blurry backgrounds. Thank you for this helpful guide and explanation on aperture size. A picture’s worth a thousand words, as they say!
PS: Your first image is a broken image. I’d love to pin this article if you bring the image back!
Nikkala says
I fixed the broken image. Thanks Mandi!
Mandi says
Sweet! Your site is so full of great ideas and great photos, I hope you don’t mind my small pinning blitz! š