Professional Baby Photography
How do I focus on the subject and blur out the background using a digital camera?
This probably sounds so dumb but I don't know much about cameras. I love looking at great photography and have a baby on the way so I'd love to at least learn how to manipulate my little optio digital camera to at least work for me in that way. I always notice on professional photos that the face and especially the eyes are very crisp and clear while the background is blurred out in some way. How can I accomplish this?
It helps to have a bit of understanding about how depth of field works. DoF is controlled by aperture, focal length of the lens, and the distance from camera to subject and subject to background. The short answer is you may have some difficulty getting less DoF on a P&S digicam. They have small sensors and wide angle lenses that automatically have a lot of depth of field. On macro you will see some background blurring, but macro is for close up work. You might be able to use macro for some closeups, especially of little hands and feet. If your camera has a manual setting, use it and choose as wide an aperture as you can (smaller numbers) Or use the portrait mode, which should do the same thing. Zoom in to the fullest optical telephoto, and have baby as far away from the background as you can. The further away the bg is, the less in focus it will be. Be sure to focus on baby's eyes.
You will hear the blurred background referred to as "bokeh". Bokeh actually is the characteristics of the blurred areas. Lenses are known for having good or bad bokeh, but that is a somewhat subjective opinion. If you Google "Depth of Field Calculator" you will find handy charts detailing Dof measurements.
Congratulations on your new arrival and best wishes!
How to take pictures: Baby photo tips with Nigel Barker
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