Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Camera Help.

I need help. I want to take pictures like the one below with my Rebel. Sometimes it happens on accident but if I was required to achieve this look I could not duplicate it for you.
I have the standard lens that came with my camera and my talented wedding photographer friend Lindsay says...you're going to have to stage your items so they are forefront in the photo, or invest in a new lens. (Linds- did I get that right?)
I know it comes down to ISO, aperture and shutter speed but I still don't know what those terms mean practically. Any advice out there?
Look, I did it on this photo I took but I don't know how!!!

All advice is appreciated. Thanks!

11 comments:

Donna said...

What kind of photo software do you have on your computer? On my regular Windows Vista photo software, it actually tells me that info at the bottom of the photo...I have Photoshop Elements but don't know if it tells me that info or not...goodluck!

Maddie said...

what exactly is the look you are going for? the blurred out background and sharp foreground? if so, you need to put your aperture setting at a lower number, like, the lowest number your lens is capable of. if that's NOT what look you were talking about, i'd be happy to offer more advice! :) i like your blog!

Anonymous said...

I'm a newbie at photography as well, but I can give you the advice I know! The lower number of your apperture (f stop) will give you the blurred background. I shoot with Nikon, but I'm sure your Rebel has an apperture priority mode. You can probably set your aperture to the lowest number in that mode and shoot away!

Lane Gunter said...

Get that 50 mm!!! :) I always put it at 1.8 (AV mode)then change the focus point to whatever you want in focus, and then the background will be blurry! The 50mm is a great price and you'll def get the results you are looking for. For inside shots, the higher ISO you want and vice versa.
The lens that comes with the camera doesn't go that low so you aren't going to get the real blurry look that you are looking for.

Email me if you have any more questions....it's hard to explain everything in a comment!

paula said...

I am not sure about your camera, we use nikon, but putting your movable focal point on the subject that you want in focus should blur out the background a bit. Although a 50mm would be perfect for all these types of shots and really does make a world of difference. I use the 1.8 and the hubby uses the 1.4. He says his is better, ha! Email me if you want more detailed help:) It's how we work it.

Jess said...

Make sure your aperture is set the lowest you can set it (which means the lens will open up the most it can) This will let in more light, so you may have to set the shutter speed a little higher to let in less light. ALWAYS keep your ISO low - like at 200-350. Then just make sure you are focused on the right part of your image and that should do it!

Jess said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jess said...

PS

Check your WB (white balance) too. You can look up the meaning of the symbols in your manual if you don't know what they mean. White balance can make or break a photo. To do all of this you need to be shooting manually. Hope that helps!

Danielle said...

I have the Rebel too. I get the blurred background effect simply by using the standard portrait setting. I'm sure you can do more using the 'creative zones', but that works for me and it's easy. I get the effect when using my 50 mm lens.

Danielle said...

... Meant to say "I get the effect when using my 50 mm lens too". But the lens that came with the camera works fine on portrait. You might also want to check out Darby's advice on using the Rebel: http://www.flythroughourwindow.com/my_camera/

flowinsoul said...

I'm assuming you want the shallow depth of field (something sharply in focus and everything blown out) the easiest way to get this look is to use your biggest aperture (lowest number, likely 3.5) and longest focal length on your lens (zoom all the way in). You will have to manually focus your camera.

In order to use a large aperture opening you should set your camera to aperture priority mode (i think that it will be TV on your dial on the rebel) once you do this you can open the aperture all the way and the camera will handle the rest of the exposure. And in order to get the sharpest look you will want to set your ISO to 100. If the light is low you can bump it up for a better exposure. I wouldn't go any higher than an 800 iso.

any more questions... nate@aquafluence.com