Aperture question

So, I love messing with the depth of field, yet I have a question I think I'm stumped on... I have seen pictures where images in the foreground are crisp, yet images closer in same image are blurred. Is there any way to create this affect without utilizing a software program??? If so, please explain as I can't figure it out.

That is done using a shallow depth of field. By using a shallow depth of field, the subject will be in focus but objects closer than the subject or farther than the subject will not.

Do a search for depth of field, and you will find lots of discussions on this topic.

You can also go here to learn a bit about depth of field in general:
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/d​epth-of-field.htm

The site dofmaster.com has a nice calculator where you can see how different apertures, focal lengths and distances can affect the depth of field, which is the area of "acceptable sharpness" both in front of and behind a subject that is the "point of focus".

Thanks for the responses guys. Let me clarify exactly what I'm trying to achieve. I saw a photograph taken where several people were pictured, however only one of the persons, standing in the midpoint was in focus. So the image was out of focus near and far, but one specific face was crisp, it was really a terrific shot- but I don't see how this can be achieved without using software, any ideas??? Thanks again!

Exactly....that's an amazing picture! So how did you achieve that exactly?

As I said earlier, that was done by placing the middle person in focus and using a shallow depth of field. Hence, the subject was nice and crisp while the closer and farther persons were out of focus.

Neither magic nor special software was involved.

Glh222 wrote in post #16194040
Exactly....that's an amazing picture! So how did you achieve that exactly?

tonylong directed you to the dofmaster.com website . . . more specifically, you can look here: http://dofmaster.com/d​ofjs.html That should start to answer your questions.

Glh222 wrote in post #16192498
So, I love messing with the depth of field, yet I have a question I think I'm stumped on... I have seen pictures where images in the foreground are crisp, yet images closer in same image are blurred. Is there any way to create this affect without utilizing a software program??? If so, please explain as I can't figure it out.

This may be a good time to learn how cameras and lenses work. There are many ways to learn the relationship between aperture, focal length and depth of field

Glh222 wrote in post #16194040
Exactly....that's an amazing picture! So how did you achieve that exactly?

As they said, I used the biggest aperture on my lens, in this case F2. On a telephoto lens F2 is pretty shallow, and I was close which also makes it shallow so I just focused on the guy in the middle. As mentioned above use the DOF calculator to see how changing the apeture, distance to the subject, and the focal length all have an effect on depth of field.

Are you leaving it to your camera to select which part of your image to focus on? If so it's probably choosing the closest thing in the frame, meaning nothing in the foreground will be out of focus.

I suggest you check your camera manual to see how you can change its settings and select the point/s of focus yourself. Once you've made this change, practice by selecting a wide lens aperture (small f number) and then autofocusing on something further away from you than the closest object in your frame. Once you've taken the picture you should see that the closest object is blurry. If not, try increasing the distance between the closest object and the thing you've focused on.

You'll have a great time once you're clear about this and the advice others have given above

It should be stated that many cameras (indeed many lenses) are not large (fast) enough to create this effect. It would be helpful to post your equipment so we know what setting (or purchase) to recommend.

A shallow depth of field doesn't just create blur behind your subject. It will also cause things in front of your subject to fall out of focus.

Shallow Depth of field; also read on the DOF preview button

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