new user

[dapgar]

hi everyone. i just purchased the a620 and i haven't really been interested in the past in doing shots other than in auto mode. i just use my camera for personal use for the family and my jobs that i build as a contractor.
my g1 died and i replaced it with this camera.

i basically know nothing about doing macros the right way. i've been messing around with a lot of the features and have read the advanced manual a few times through to get the idea of how things work on the camera. they really don't explain what settings to use, what mode on the dial to use for a nice macro. i like when the background is out of focus, is this the case on all macros?
i want to take some pictures of our 5 month old baby and i want to just get his face and make the background out of focus. what settings should i change on the camera? should it be in manual mode? or AV? Portrait mode?
sorry for my lack of knowledge, i hope someone can help me out so i can learn more about this fun hobby. i want to be able to use the camera i bought for all it's worth. not just use auto all the time.
i'm going to invest in a mini tripod to use when macroing

the problem i seem to be having when i try to take shots in the AV mode, is that even with lots of indoor lighting, and using the flash, when the picture is taken, it makes it look as though the room doesn't even have a light on. i would think with all the lights on and the subject looking lit up, it shouldn't even need the flash. i don't like getting that bright flash showing up on the subject.

Thanks,
Dan

[chemicalbro]

i've never used an a620 so i can't really comment on how to use it....... to get blurred backgrounds with any camera tho, you want as high an aperture as possible (low f number) (i see from looking at the specs of your camera that your minimum aperture is 2.8 ) that should give half decent background blur if you leave enough space between subject and background

most macro pictures you see are out of focus in the background because at such high magnifications the depth of field is tiny (sometimes just a few mm's at really high magnifications)........
so in macro you want the aperture set as low as possible (high f number) (i usually shoot macro at LEAST f/16) usually f/22 and now that i've got a ring flash i dare say i'll be shooting a lot at f/45 (the downside of this is that not as much light gets into the camera....even with a flash)

when you have your camera in AV mode and use a low aperture say about 11-22 to get extra depth of field you are closing down the iris ...........
when the flash hits the subject and bounces back it does so with a short wavelength that can get through the tiny hole in the iris............ the light that hits the background bounces back with a long wavelength and is physically unable to get through that tiny hole so your background looks black...
(an analogy i like to use is when you go into a tunnel in your car, the radio cuts out becasue radiostations broadcast at long wavelengths, which is unable to get into the tiny hole of the tunnel...... if you used a shortwave vhf walkie talkie tho you could talk to somebody inside the tunnel).........
our eyes are infinately more sensitive to light than any camera sensor or film, so what may look well lit to your eyes will be almost black to a camera....... (our iris also changes in a millisecond to suit the light entering the eye..so everything is always perfectly exposed and you don't even have to think about it :))

when you look at something close to you the objects in your peripheral vision will be blurred.......... you just don't notice becasue your brain is concentrating on the object you are focused on... the instant you switch your view to the background object your eye focuses on that and adjusts your iris for the correct light level............. a camera simply cannot do that anywhere near as fast as your eyes :)