Photo Tip Friday - Using Zoom on Your Camera to Blur the Background

by Mary Denman

Welcome back to Photo Tip Friday!

Mary Denman Photography

Over the past couple of weeks, we talked about the focal point of a picture and what depth of field is. 
Click here for last week's post.

Ellen asked a great question last week while trying to find the Aperture setting (which controls depth of field) on her point and shoot camera, as opposed to a DSLR camera - Digital Single Lens Reflex. After I got the model of her camera, I realized the information was so buried in the instruction manual that I decided to teach the work around for her and everyone else. 

This technique will work for cell phones, point and shoot, and DSLR cameras. 


So, how do you use the zoom feature on your camera to blur the background of your subject instead of controlling the Aperture?

Let's get started. 

Here's the first example. As you can see, this picture was taken at 17 mm. The human eye sees things at approximately 35 mm on most cameras. What would a 300mm lens mean? That's the zoom part. Have you ever seen a wildlife shot that looked like the photographer was right next to the bear in the river catching salmon? That's when you need the zoom power of 300 mm or more. He wasn't in danger. He was staying a safe distance away. But that's how he does it! 

Back to the picture. You can see the rose in the middle of the frame. I was standing in one spot for this picture to let you see how much the 17 mm lens would take in. This is a so-so picture. 

But look what happened when I stayed in the exact same spot but "zoomed" to 55 mm. The same grass that was fairly clear in the 17 mm shot is now a beautiful, soft, green, blurred background. 

We went from a so-so shot to a much better one!

Cell phone picture

This is such an easy technique to try! 

BIG TIP: By using the zoom feature on your camera, you can learn how to blur the background.

CELL PHONE USERS: When you turn your camera on, you have it at the widest setting, meaning it's going to take in the entire scene. But, when you zoom with your phone, you can create a similar look. 

Cell phone close-up 

BLOGGING TIPS: These photos make me think about life in this way - sometimes we have so much going on in our lives that we are running on the big picture with clutter all around. But sometimes, we need to stop and focus on what's right in front of us. Appreciate a person, talent, or job that we have. Let all the clutter of busyness be stripped away and what do you see? Beauty, right in front of you! 

So go grab your camera and cell phone and go experiment with it! Take pictures at different lens lengths and see if you can't also create the blurred background! 

Hope this tip helps! 

Keep on clicking!

Mary


TWEETABLE: How Can You Use the Zoom Feature on you Camera to Blur the Background? (Click to Tweet)!