portrait photography

[iml3g3nd]

hi all ,,

i recently bought a canon sx210is , i would be mostly using it for shooting portraits and

nature scenery , mayb some macros too................but mostly portraits.

need some help with shooting portraits with soft/blur backgrounds,,

read somewhere that taking pics with low f value in aperture mode will give that effect !

tried a lot of pics with different aperture but didnt get the desired effect....

can some pros help me with this ,,

also MF in this cam ,, has a magnified view of focus point ,, with values changeable from 5cm to infinity,,, how does this work ????????

 

[Aces170]

Low f stop results in shallow DOF, you need prime lenses on a DSLR to get the effect. Not much you can do on a P&S out there. You could try some photoshopping to blur the background, but it's a lot of work and wont look half as good.

For portrait's I suggest using sunlight to the full advantage (not the harsh afternoon sun) and flash is a strict no, unless you have a powerful bouncing flash. Since using a shallow DOF is outta question, increase the f-stop till light permits to get a very sharp photo. Manual focus also will not help you out here too. Macro's and nature photos come pretty decent on a P&S though, you just need to get accustomed to the controls.

 

[iml3g3nd]

ok ,,, can u explain how that MF works ??

what those values mean ??

 

[Aces170]

^^ An article which might help you.

Using Manual Focal Lengths And Focus To Make A Digital Picture

Dont go into the nitty gritties of manual focus points, infact 99% of the time you will never be using manual focus..

 

[manuvikraman]

Get an entry level DSLR after a while ...(ur thirsty for better and prof result.. drag u to the dooor step of world of DSLR)
ATM nikon D3100 is a better choice...

 

[touzeen]

only using a wide aperture wont get u the best bokeh(out of focus area behind the model)

the bokeh depends on a lot of variables such as aperture,distance from lens to subject,distance from subject to background and arrangement of the aperture leaves

hxxp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cirles_of_confusion_lens_diagram.png

hxxp://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm

hxxp://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/bokeh.html

EDIT:

U dont need a DSLR to get good bokeh.This pic takes with a Sony H2,5 yr old zoom camera



Flat Backed Millipede by Touzeen Hussain, on Flickr