Photography Magazine

Like most things in today’s world, there are two approaches to blurring out the background on your photographs - the classic method that is more difficult to master, but more rewarding at the same time; and the modern quick-fix digital method. It is good to be aware of both. But here we shall focus on the classic photographic techniques and leave the digital version to a later tutorial. The reason is, the digital version is a mimicry of the classic, so you would do well to be aware of the camera techniques.

Blurring out an area in front of or behind the subject is a very useful tool when you want to isolate your subject for obvious reasons. You understand how this is done when you understand the depth of field of the lens at the given aperture. As we know, an aperture determines the diameter of lens opening. The greater the aperture, the more light enters the camera and affects exposure. However, exposure is not the only effect of the aperture of a lens. Apertures also have a direct impact on the depth of field of the lens. When you focus on an object using your lens focusing ring (or on auto focus as may be the case), there is an area in front of the subject as well as behind the subject that are both ‘in focus’ up to a point. Objects in front of the subject will gradually fall more out of focus the closer they are to you (and the further they are from the point of focus). This gradual change in the sharpness or ‘unsharpness’ of objects is what we call the depth of field or ‘d.o.f.’ of the lens at the given aperture. When you are able to get your backgrounds (or foregrounds) out of focus at will, you have become a better photographer. But don’t forget to make an appropriate change in shutter speed to compensate for the increased amount (or decreased amount) of light that is allowed to enter the lens, with the change in aperture.

Take for example, the above image. It made a batter photograph to have the background out of focus. For this, the photographer used a large aperture. Another factor which has an impact of depth of field is the focal length of the lens. A longer focal length (’zoomed in’ for the beginners) produces a shallower depth of field. A 300mm telephoto lens was used to photograph the sample image of a bird in the hands of its rescuer. A wide angle lens has the exact opposite affect and produces a larger depth of field - directly proportional to the ‘wideness’ or shorter focal length. So - the shorter the lens focal length the more the depth of field, the longer the focal length the less depth of field. Also - the larger the aperture the less the depth of field, the smaller the aperture…you get the picture. Use focal length and aperture to control your d.o.f.

How many times do we hear of people going out to buy a camera and ending up with something too complicated, something not applicable to their use, something they cannot understand or use easily? The first thing you need to keep in mind is the fact that what is applicable to one photographer may not be the right camera to you. Ask yourself why you want the camera at all - is it for your outings with family friends and for snap shots? Is it for dedicated segments such as landscape, architectural or panoramic photography? Are you a professional photographer looking for a versatile system? Cameras have conveniently been divided into the basic divisions of compacts, prosumer level and professional cameras. Let us look at the major differences between the categories. Of course this article is aimed at the absolute novice, who does not have much of an idea about photography.

Compact cameras are generally aimed at the non-professional segment of the camera buyers. However, this by no means implies that they are substandard cameras. It does imply that these cameras may have limited applications as compared to the versatile professional cameras. Compacts have in-built flashes, generally come with their own rechargeable batteries, have fixed lenses with a certain zoom range and today have interesting features such as image stabilization. Perfect for the odd family picnic and portraits with your friends. However, compact cameras usually do not allow you too many manual controls, which means they may not be the best bet for the creative minded. It is also true that compacts are able to deliver excellent pictures within their limited abilities.

SLRs are single lens reflect cameras, and have remained the favorite with photojournalists since the seventies when they became more popular than TLRs. SLR cameras have removable lenses, which make them versatile tools - you can use a different lens for every different type of photography. Maybe a wide angle for your interiors and landscapes, a 150mm for your portraiture, and a 500mm for sports photography. However, the ‘Dont use canon to kill mosquito’ philosophy is most applicable if you do NOT know much about photography and buy your self an expensive SLR simply because you believe the more money you shell out, the better the product you get. That may be true, but not of much use if you do not know how to use one, and neither wish to learn.

Prosumer cameras are rightly called semi-professional cameras as well. They generally have all the manual controls that you could ask for, have an SLR-like appearance but do not allow interchangeable lenses. However, some of them have such a wide range on the in built zoom lens, that you would probably never require to change lenses for most photographic applications. You do not spend money on extra lenses, and you never have a problem with dust getting in to harm the sensor. Such cameras are often used by upcoming photographers and students of the subject.