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Hey! I've got 2 BIG photography gigs coming up, one is a Wedding for my brothers roomate and the other is shooting a catolog for my dads work.

I'm leaving for the photography program @ north ga technical college in aug. but one of the jobs is sooner than that, i need to learn how to take a photo where the subject is completly in focus and the background is blurry?

I've got a nikon D60, i cant figure out how to do this, can ya'll explain it?
thanks!


Corrie

Posh Bob Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

Hi Corrie

Do a Google search on "depth of field" and there will be plenty of info, but as a rough starter guide, shallow depth of field (or shallow depth of focus) is a function of a few things that need to come together at the same time.

First you ideally need a fast lens ie. one that has a large maximum aperture (these don't come cheap) and the effect you're after is achieved by a combination of a large aperture, lens focal length, distance from you to the subject and distance from subject to background. Accurate focussing and deciding what point to focus on is obviously critical.

The longer the focal length of the lens the better - a wide angle will always give you more in focus than a telephoto for any given aperture. The more distance between your subject and the background the better, in order to give your background a better chance of going out of focus. Shoot in Aperture priority and set your aperture to the largest (smallest F-number) that your lens will allow.

There is always a bit more to it than just this, but hopefully the above will give you a good starting point. None of my business of course, but I do question the wisdom of shooting something as important as a wedding and a corporate catalogue when your knowledge-level is obviously as low as it is?

Anyway, hope this helps.

Cheers

Bob

milhouse Loc: Pacific Islands

Depth of field can also be achieved on the Program setting. Back up from your subject as far as you come and zoom in. This works best when doing portraits so that the person is in focus and everything else around and behind is a soft blur. Watch your exposure compensation so you don't end up with dark or washed out photos. If your gig is soon, this is a crash course you'll need to practice now. Good luck!

cgchief Loc: Jarrettsville

Use the widest aperture (lowest f stop number) which gives
the least depth-of-field.

cgchief Loc: Jarrettsville

Use the widest aperture (lowest f stop number) which gives
the least depth-of-field.

gessman Loc: Colorado

You're getting only partial information here and it can cause you to ruin a lot of shots if you aren't careful with more blur than you want by opening your lens up all the way. Sometimes doing that will yield only a few inches of the front of your subject that is in focus and other vital parts be blurred. You can have the tip of a persons nose and the ears blurred, for instance. Decide on which lens you are going to use for those shots you want shallow depth of field in and then go to the following url to a depth of field calculator and calculate how much d-o-f you will have at certain f-stop settings, make notes of the d-o-f for different f-stops and write them down:

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island

corrie, i have a piece of unsolicited advice for you. don't shoot the wedding. wedding photography is a specialty that takes a long time to learn. take a look at some of the work by wedding photographers on www.flickr.com, particularly tracie taylor, who is one of the best. unless you want a bride chasing you with an axe, you would be nuts to take this on. you have neither the skill nor the equipment for a project as important as a wedding, which is a one-time deal. you can't reshoot if mrs. bride doesn't like the results. at least the catalog gig can be redone when you discover that you don't know enough about light to shoot the product.
this may sound harsh, but we all have to look realistically at our levels of experience. think hard my friend.

roxportraitman Loc: Littleton, CO

I agree with quonnie, a wedding is far too important to mess up. It took about 20-30 weddings before I became comfortable enough to not have nightmares the night before, and this was AFTER I acheived my Associate Degree in Professional Photography! You have to start somewhere, but you MUST understand all the basics of photography (the science) before you can become an artist at it. There is still a lot to learn: posing, lighting, available light, etc...