Just about to throw towel in

[smokes205]

Hi
Ever since I got my camera I have been trying to get blurred backgrounds with a good front focus (cant say Bokeh someone told me Im using the term wrong)

I went along the lines of wanting to buy old M42 lenses becauce of the high apraures I gave up on that idea just ended going round in circles, so I bought a used Canon EF 50mm F1.8 by no means a good lens & cheap build quality, but I thought its better than nothing & a start

No matter how hard I try in AV mode on my 300D with this lens set at f1.8, all my photos are crystal clear no blur anywhere. I have got close and stood further back trying to photo my cat indoors (Which isnt happy nor am I atm) & no difference is it me or the camera?

I have read tutorials on this and cant see where I am going wrong

Fairly Hacked Off Right Now

Smokes

[Skrim17]

the background should be blurred at 1.8, can you post some examples? The further away from the background the cat is also helps in making it blurry.

[Scatterbrained]

Pictures? How far are you from the subject? how far is the subject from the background?

[dwarfcow]

No matter how hard I try in AV mode on my 300D with this lens set at f1.8, all my photos are crystal clear no blur anywhere. I have got close and stood further back trying to photo my cat indoors (Which isnt happy nor am I atm) & no difference is it me or the camera?

Smokes
you had the right term, sorta. You are trying to get background seperation, the type of blur is reffered to as the bokeh (stong hollywood bokeh, cream cheese bokeh, whatever).

If i recall correctly the 50 1.8 has a max focal range of around30-40ft before going to infinity. the closer you are to your subject at F1.8 the narrower your depth of field should be. so if you are 1.5 Ft (.45m) from your cat and you take a picture the field of view will be minniscule, somthing like less than 1/8th of an inch. so everthing more than 1/8th of an inch from your focus point will be blurred, as you get further away, say 20ft that depth of field will increase, maybe to as much as 1ft wide. To get the background to blur, you need the background to be adequately far away from your cat.

here's an experiment that will work.

put a few large title text books leaned up against a wall in your house, then put your cat 3 feet in front of them, then take his picture from 6ft away from the books, and 3 ft away from him, focus on the cat's eyes, and get the book titles in the frame a little, so you can see them in the picture (obviously not focusing on the books ) use a central focal point only.

[smokes205]

Thanks very much as soon as I get some photos I will upload 1 close & 1 further back would it be ok to resize them to save space on this website as I havent got a host.

Smokes

[dwarfcow]

Thanks very much as soon as I get some photos I will upload 1 close & 1 further back would it be ok to resize them to save space on this website as I havent got a host.

Smokes

rules state images have to be less than 1024x1024 pxl's max, just downsize them.

[Scatterbrained]

Why not just start a free flckr account?

[smokes205]

rules state images have to be less than 1024x1024 pxl's max, just downsize them.

Yes hey will be smaller than this :lol:

I will have a look at flkr asap

Thanks

[Brain Mechanic]

That can be...? We need examples.

[smokes205]

That can be...? We need examples.

Just created flckr account so relax :p

[XplicitLook]

I personally like the lens (canon 50mm 1.8f) it has worked very well for me... and i get the blurry background and nice focus up front... but im not professional and im sure yall can pic this photo apart but i like it... what do you think...

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p135/madcountykennel/12326_555433985522_184101100_321651.jpg

[smokes205]

Hi Brad
I am no way an expert & just trying to learn myself, this is exactly the effect that Im after :D the only thing that drawed my eye was the spot behind the hair dont know what is is. How far back did you take the Photo & what camera did you use?

I like it & looks good

Smokes

[awl245]

Hey Smokes,

I'm assuming that this is what you are looking for...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1068/4733871613_c46e3413a8_b.jpg

and

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1354/4734506500_76dbc93ecb_b.jpg

I used a Canon 50d for both.. The first image was shot with the same "low budget" 50mm 1.8 that you have. I personally love it. Best $100 I spent since getting into photography. The second image was shot with the 70-200mm L IS lens, which is a better lens, but a lot more money.

For the 50mm shot I was about a foot away (looking down) from the dog.
I shot in manual mode and had my camera set for:
ISO 320
50MM
f/2.8
1/250 sec

For the 70-200mm shot I was about 2 1/2 feet away sitting on the ground so I would be level with the dog.
Once again, I shot in manual mode and had my camera set for:
ISO 250
70mm
f/3.5
1/125 sec

I do not consider myself a PRO-level photographer yet, even though I have paying gigs, so take this advice as one "noob" talking to another.

My best advice to you is to put your 50mm lens on, set the camera in manual mode, put any object on a chair/stand/etc, and put it in front of something with a background that can stand out from the object. If you can, get the background and main object a couple of feet away from each other. Then stand about 3 feet from it with camera in hand..

Forget about a flash for the moment.

Set your ISO speed to something high like 400,800, etc.

Set your shutter speed to something like 1/125 of a sec... With this shutter speed and ISO setting you should get enough ambient light to see some kind of picture if you are taking it inside. If it's too bright, bring the shutter speed up to 1/250 of sec.

The shutter speed and the ISO will stay at these settings for the test shots....

Now, set your aperture (f/stop) to f/11, focus in on your main subject/object and take a picture.

Stay in the same exact spot (very important for our test) and set you aperture to f/8, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Once again, stay in the same exact spot and set you aperture to f/5.6, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Once again, stay in the same exact spot and set you aperture to f/2.8, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Once again, stay in the same exact spot and set you aperture to f/1.8, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Now, go take a peek at the photos. You should now be able to see the difference in the depth of field between each shot. When you lower the f-stop (f/11 to f/1.8), you will have a smaller portion of the picture in focus. As a byproduct, the lower the f-stop, the more light will be let in, so you'll notice your pictures will be become brighter. (You can learn how to deal with that later on.. one thing at a time.)

I learned about depth of field (which is what I believe you are looking to learn) by taking photos of one my daughter's teddy bears with a pile of other stuffed animals about 3 feet behind it. I learned to control the amount of background blur by shooting the same thing with all different settings on the camera until it finally clicked in my head.

Here is a site with some free training on it... I found it interesting in the beginning.

http://www.morguefile.com/docs/Classroom

I hope this helps,
Anthony

[hsmoscout]

Must be user error. Sorry, but getting no blur at 1.8 is almost physically impossible.
Even at 20 feet away, your depth of field is less than 3 feet.

[avwh]

Said he had a flickr acct May 9th; still no images here. Guess he/she threw in the towel??

[awl245]

I guess so.. It's a shame then.

[in2fx]

My best advice to you is to put your 50mm lens on, set the camera in manual mode, put any object on a chair/stand/etc, and put it in front of something with a background that can stand out from the object. If you can, get the background and main object a couple of feet away from each other. Then stand about 3 feet from it with camera in hand..

Forget about a flash for the moment.

Set your ISO speed to something high like 400,800, etc.

Set your shutter speed to something like 1/125 of a sec... With this shutter speed and ISO setting you should get enough ambient light to see some kind of picture if you are taking it inside. If it's too bright, bring the shutter speed up to 1/250 of sec.

The shutter speed and the ISO will stay at these settings for the test shots....

Now, set your aperture (f/stop) to f/11, focus in on your main subject/object and take a picture.

Stay in the same exact spot (very important for our test) and set you aperture to f/8, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Once again, stay in the same exact spot and set you aperture to f/5.6, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Once again, stay in the same exact spot and set you aperture to f/2.8, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Once again, stay in the same exact spot and set you aperture to f/1.8, check your focus on the main subject and shoot another picture.

Now, go take a peek at the photos. You should now be able to see the difference in the depth of field between each shot. When you lower the f-stop (f/11 to f/1.8), you will have a smaller portion of the picture in focus. As a byproduct, the lower the f-stop, the more light will be let in, so you'll notice your pictures will be become brighter. (You can learn how to deal with that later on.. one thing at a time.)

I learned about depth of field (which is what I believe you are looking to learn) by taking photos of one my daughter's teddy bears with a pile of other stuffed animals about 3 feet behind it. I learned to control the amount of background blur by shooting the same thing with all different settings on the camera until it finally clicked in my head.

Here is a site with some free training on it... I found it interesting in the beginning.

http://www.morguefile.com/docs/Classroom

I hope this helps,
Anthony

Excellent advice Anthony and thank you for going to so much trouble to explain it in such depth.
I know what I am going to be trying this weekend :)

[Gatorboy]

The OP hasn't chimed in here in for over 2 months.

[avwh]

The OP hasn't chimed in here in for over 2 months.

...so I guess he did throw in the towel?

[hennie]

...so I guess he did throw in the towel?
I guess so.
But actually it is very simple to get the effect of a reduced DOF.
Just get to the cat as close as your lens will focus.
Look at this example, shot with F5.6 at two feet, nose and eyes in focus but ears oof.
http://webdisk.planet.nl/hkleywgt/publiek/album/Dierenopvang/2010-07-14/_w/_MG_6170_raw_jpg.jpg (http://webdisk.planet.nl/hkleywgt/publiek/album/Dierenopvang/2010-07-14/_MG_6170_raw.jpg)
(click on image to see larger image)

[dwarfcow]

I guess so.
But actually it is very simple to get the effect of a reduced DOF.
Just get to the cat as close as your lens will focus.
Look at this example, shot with F5.6 at two feet, nose and eyes in focus but ears oof.
http://webdisk.planet.nl/hkleywgt/publiek/album/Dierenopvang/2010-07-14/_w/_MG_6170_raw_jpg.jpg (http://webdisk.planet.nl/hkleywgt/publiek/album/Dierenopvang/2010-07-14/_MG_6170_raw.jpg)
(click on image to see larger image)

that poor cat is still crying from having its whiskers cut... poor kitty :lol:

[Brain Mechanic]

Die thread, die....DIE!!!!!! LOL!

[hennie]

that poor cat is still crying from having its whiskers cut... poor kitty :lol:

You might be right, this picture is taken in a local shelter.
Kitten was found in box next to garbage container.

[garyark]

Think about using a Lens Baby. Cheap and you can select whatever blur you want.