How do i take this kinda of picture?

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x2xwakegurlx2x

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could someone please help me out. how do i take the kind of picture where the main object, or person is in focus, perfect, no bluriness...then the background and everything around them is not in focus and very blurry, and the moving things in the back blurred like moving things usually are. does anyone know what i mean?

thanks..and if it helps, i am using a panasonic lumix camera, if that makes any difference
 
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x2xwakegurlx2x said:
could someone please help me out. how do i take the kind of picture where the main object, or person is in focus, perfect, no bluriness...then the background and everything around them is not in focus and very blurry, and the moving things in the back blurred like moving things usually are. does anyone know what i mean?

thanks..and if it helps, i am using a panasonic lumix camera, if that makes any difference
You mean like this one?
I have no idea, this pic was a fluke. I am by no means a photographer, but I am sure someone here will be able to answer that for you.

nields.jpg
 
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x2xwakegurlx2x

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ya, thats exactly what i mean. anyone know how to do those?

keep in mind i am new to photography and have no idea what all the big words and such mean...let alone know how to use my camera completly, so please explain it in simple terms if possible. thanks
 
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I don't know how to do such with a camera, but you can do it in photoshop with a blur filter, and the marquee tool.
 
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Set your f-stop wide open. The more your f-stop is open, the shorter your focal range.
 
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yea you need a high f/number high aperture

what ever your camera calls it, unless you have an SLR its unlikely that your camera will do this so you may have to PS it
 
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its called depth of field (DOF)
like stated, your f-stop should be wide open
the lower the number the wider its open
the camera focuses on the area in focus and everything else get out of focus faster
when used with a telephoto or zoom lens the more of the effect this has
 
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x2xwakegurlx2x

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thanks for all the replies...now can someone tell me what the heck f-stop is? lol thanks
 
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An f stop is a reference to the diameter of the aperture (hole) through which the light passes before it hits the recording medium (film or digital chip).

The fstop is referred to as a number and they go in the following order.
1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, etc.......

The lower the number the wider the aperture thus the more light that passes through the hole. The more light that passes through the hole the brighter the image. However you may then need to adjust the shutter speed accordingly to get a correctly exposed image.

How does this relate to the blurry background?

Well the larger the aperture (smaller the fstop number) the less that you get in focus in front and behind the point of focus. For example should you focus on a person and set an fstop of 1.4 you might get about 20cm's in front and behind the person in focus before the rest falls into an unfocused blur.
However if you focus on the same person and set an fstop of 22 then you might get 5 metres in front and behind the person in focus before the rest falls into an unfocused blur.

Exactly how far you get in focus in front and behind is all down to another much more complicated calculation that you really don't need to know about.

I would say have a play and experiment. Just remember that the more in front and behind your subject you want to be in focus the higher an fstop you need to set.
 
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The pic that D3v1L80Y posted and I think you were asking about has more of a motion blur behind it not a focal length blur.... The only way I know of to get a "motion blur" effect behind the subject is to use a slower shutter speed or longer exposure time (around 1/60 - 1/15) And have both you and the subject move together at the same speed through the location. By keeping the individual in the same part of the picture and moving through the room the subject will remain fairly sharp while the background will have the motion effect. You can also try rotating around the subject quickly while they continue to stay turned toward you... These can be really tough techniques to master... but as D3v1L80Y showed us it can have awesome looking effects... even by accident :)

That being said if someone knows an easier way please tell... this method is really a pain.
 
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quanz

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sarahsboy18 said:
The pic that D3v1L80Y posted and I think you were asking about has more of a motion blur behind it not a focal length blur.... The only way I know of to get a "motion blur" effect behind the subject is to use a slower shutter speed or longer exposure time (around 1/60 - 1/15) And have both you and the subject move together at the same speed through the location. By keeping the individual in the same part of the picture and moving through the room the subject will remain fairly sharp while the background will have the motion effect. You can also try rotating around the subject quickly while they continue to stay turned toward you... These can be really tough techniques to master... but as D3v1L80Y showed us it can have awesome looking effects... even by accident :)

That being said if someone knows an easier way please tell... this method is really a pain.

flash plus slow shutter works in aiding this effect becasue the flash is fast and bright enough to freeze the motion of the subject, this can be seen in multiple strobe type photo's


if anyone is wondering why this effect happen becasue of the f stop here is a short explination


when you have an f stop liek 1.8 you are letting in more light, you do this by using more of the lens. the downside to this is that when you use more of the lens, and the lens has a curve to it. As you use more of the curve you get less in focus becasue the optics of the lens dont allow light from those great angles to be seen in focus.


f 22 uses a smaller part of the lens, this means almost everythign is in focuse becasue nothign falls outside of the curve of the lens.


its really beyond my skill to explain it any better than that, so I apologize if it ddint help.
 
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sarahsboy18 said:
The pic that D3v1L80Y posted and I think you were asking about has more of a motion blur behind it not a focal length blur.... The only way I know of to get a "motion blur" effect behind the subject is to use a slower shutter speed or longer exposure time (around 1/60 - 1/15)


Yes, that is motion blur. It looks like it was added with photoshop, however can also be accomplished by panning the camera with your subject.

If you are using a point and shoot digital camera, it will be difficult to accomplish a shallow depth of field image due to the sensor size. You could shoot with a aperture (F/stop) of f/2.8 and still have 2 or 3 feet if not the entire scene in focus. That makes these little cameras great for people wanting to shoot macros getting alot of the object in focus but a bit*& for anyone wishing to get the shallow depth of field.
If you are using an SLR style camera a cheap lens that does this great is the 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 I think both Nikon and Canon make these model lenses and they are quite reasonably priced.

I think this image was taken with the 50mm, notice the object the blacksmith is striking is in focus while all in front and behind is not. The portions not in focus are referred to as Bokeh. The further away from the focus point you get the more blurred the objects will become, so ideally the more blurred you want the background the farther away it needs to be from the subject.

_DSC3180-Blacksmith.jpg
 
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quanz

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Odin_aa said:
Yes, that is motion blur. It looks like it was added with photoshop, however can also be accomplished by panning the camera with your subject.

If you are using a point and shoot digital camera, it will be difficult to accomplish a shallow depth of field image due to the sensor size. You could shoot with a aperture (F/stop) of f/2.8 and still have 2 or 3 feet if not the entire scene in focus. That makes these little cameras great for people wanting to shoot macros getting alot of the object in focus but a bit*& for anyone wishing to get the shallow depth of field.
If you are using an SLR style camera a cheap lens that does this great is the 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 I think both Nikon and Canon make these model lenses and they are quite reasonably priced.

I think this image was taken with the 50mm, notice the object the blacksmith is striking is in focus while all in front and behind is not. The portions not in focus are referred to as Bokeh. The further away from the focus point you get the more blurred the objects will become, so ideally the more blurred you want the background the farther away it needs to be from the subject.

_DSC3180-Blacksmith.jpg
A longer lens length gives you a better blur effect
 
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ush flynn

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hey all, first post here.
About this type of picture. You may have seen many images like this or taken at night where you have motion trails from bright objects all over the background but your subject is well lit and not blurred at all. WELL
Most SLR's and prosumer cameras have a function called rear-sync for the flash, what happens is the shutter will open for say 1 second, on a small aperture such as f8 - f11 this will allow things like car tail-lights and reflections to make a trail on your image, then right at the last 1/4 of the second (assuming the flash sync ins 1/250) the flash will fire and your image will be completed with an illuminated subject :D
hope this helps
 
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The picture in the second post looks like a pan. The background looks like it is blurred horizontally. You can do that by having lets say 1/40 shutter speed. Now follow the person on a bike, car. etc...and click. If focus was right the person will be in focus and background will be blurred horizontally.

If you just want background out of focus (bokeh) you can do it two ways. Long zoom, or large aperture 1.4, 1.8, 2.8 etc.

Here is a picture.
coffee3.jpg
 

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