CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Relevance to kit lenses that start at f/3.5?

BuckeyeBilly Loc: St. Petersburg, FL

I would suggest you add this website to your phone AND your computer. This website is the equivalent of attending college and has tutorials on practically everything about photography. It's also free.

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/dof-calculator.htm

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

If the OP is wanting to do portraits, they would be much happier if they were to invest in a fast lens, when I didn't feel that I could afford a new fast Canon lens and wanted to take portrait type images I bought an old Pentax film period 50/1.4 and an adapter for my Canon Camera, total investment was in the $100 range. The Canon 50 f/1.8 can be bought new for $125. You can also get a Canon 85mm f/1.8 or the 100 f/2 at a reasonable price especially if you are willing to buy a used lens. I think that if the OP wants those creamy backgrounds yet a sharply focused subject he needs to consider a lens other than the kit lens that came with his camera.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Let's get the OP consistently and confidently using their camera with their current lens(es) before spending more of their money ....

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

"I need help using my Canon T7i camera. I need a clear tutorial on getting clear sharp pictures in manual and automatic."

It has been mentioned and I will repeat it again, begin by learning basic photography. You need to understand what exposure is and how an exposure meter works. It is basic to learn lens aperture and shutter speeds and how they work besides the knowledge of how to use them creatively.
Once you understand the basics then understand the camera. Read the manual with camera in hand. Setting the camera in AUTO will give you that, AUTOMATION and setting the camera in the Manual Mode will make you a photographer.
As has been already discussed there are plenty of videos on line that will teach you the basics.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You're a learning photographer when you have the battery charged and installed, the card formatted and installed, the lens attached and the camera turned on. Press the shutter button and if the image is acceptable, you're a photographer. Learn to get the digital images from the camera to your computer and you're advanced photographer. Don't let anyone get you confused about the basics of the basics.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

Once again Paul is the voice of reason. She just bought a camera with the kit lens and no need to spend more money. Lets keep it simple for her so she's not overwhelmed. P or A with auto Iso for general photos. To get blurred background use lower apatite f stop

photoman43

Read articles on depth of field. The easiest way to control backgrounds is to get closer to your subject, other things being the same.

https://photographylife.com/what-is-depth-of-field

JonathanChemE

When I bought my T7i I bought the T7i for Dummies Book. I save money and bought it as a Kindle book and could read it on my computers with a free app. I even went back and re-read it after a couple of years. Also read the manual. Sometimes you need to know the questions to ask in order to find the YouTube video. It is only like $20.

JonathanChemE

When I bought my T7i I bought the T7i for Dummies Book. I save money and bought it as a Kindle book and could read it on my computers with a free app. I even went back and re-read it after a couple of years. Also read the manual. Sometimes you need to know the questions to ask in order to find the YouTube video. It is only like $20.

JonathanChemE

When I bought my T7i I bought the T7i for Dummies Book. I save money and bought it as a Kindle book and could read it on my computers with a free app. I even went back and re-read it after a couple of years. Also read the manual. Sometimes you need to know the questions to ask in order to find the YouTube video. It is only like $20.

JonathanChemE

Sorry for the repeats. That was an accident.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

"...on taking clear blurred background pictures..."

"...on getting clear sharp pictures..."

Which is it? Which are you trying to achieve? Your post's headline and text appear to be looking for somewhat opposite things in images.

Actually a sharply focused subject in front of a strongly blurred background can create a lot of "separation". It's a useful thing to be able to do when you have little control over the background.

"Clear sharp" images are the result of accurate focusing, quality lenses (most modern lenses are very capable) used correctly and a steady hand.

"Blurred backgrounds" are achieved by using large lens apertures and/or long focal length lenses and/or being quite close to the subject while there is a lot of distance to the background behind them.

For example, for this image I wanted everything in fairly sharp focus, so I used a wide angle lens (short focal lengt, 12mmh) and a small lens aperture (f/8 or maybe even f/11):



But for the portrait below I did the opposite to make for shallow depth of field that would blur both the foreground and background, helping to isolate the subject. To achieve this I used a telephoto lens (long focal length, 300mm) and a relatively large lens aperture (f/4):



An even more extreme example, there is actually a railroad trestle behind the subject in the image below, but because I was using an extremely long telephoto (700mm) with a relatively large aperture (f/5.6), that background is very strongly blurred:



Here's another example with a strongly blurred background. This time I used a 500mm lens and was relatively close to the flower, 5 or 6 feet, while a fence in the background was 15 or 20 feet away and is obliterated into a blur even with a moderate f/8 lens aperture.



You also may need to select a shutter speed that's fast enough to freeze subject movement or slow enough to allow some subject motion blur to be captured in your images. And you will generally want to keep your ISO (sensor sensitivity) as low as possible for the best image quality (less digital "noise", better contrast and dynamic range).

Taking photos with a DSLR camera is sort of a "balancing act"... selecting a lens and making various adjustments to achieve what you'd like to see in your images.

A lot of it just comes down to practice. As you use your camera and become more and more familiar with it, you'll know what to expect with different lenses or different settings. It's really way too big a subject for us to cover in much detail here on UHH. But there are some short cuts that can get you more comfortable with the camera faster....

Buy the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's a very good overview of how cameras work and the information it contains pretty much applies to every camera ever made. It's very thorough and an easy read. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/ref=pd_sbs_1?pd_rd_w=ivaJM&pf_rd_p=651d64d1-3c73-45b6-ae09-e545600e3a22&pf_rd_r=XP6AXZPW1HM14MEF12JV&pd_rd_r=b92e043a-005e-48c3-be9e-34d57e3f4fc4&pd_rd_wg=PjWEO&pd_rd_i=1607748509&psc=1

You're camera user manual is another important resource. If a printed one came with your camera, you might carry that but the printed ones are pretty heavily abridged. Check Canon's website. You can download a PDF version that's probably more complete. You might want to put a copy of that on your phone, to consult when you're out shooting.

There also are guide books specifically for your T7i.... Those can be very helpful, too. They can help you apply to your particular camera what you learn from Peterson's book. Amazon lists several. I'm unfamiliar with the authors, but have not been a fan of the "Dummies" series for cameras (their computer and networking books were helpful, though!). That leaves at least three to chose from: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Canon+T7i&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 (Unfortunately, a search on Amazon always brings back stuff that it shouldn't, such as T8i and T7 guide books in this case. So be careful to avoid those if you decide to buy one of the guides.)

All these will help learn how to take control of your camera and get the results you want.... But there's no substitute for just getting out and shooting. Go make mistakes and learn from them!

beesue

BEGINNER

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

It's been about 2 months since your post. How are things going?

BTW: Typing in ALL CAPS is considered YELLING in an email / message board context. Don't answer fire with fire in the context of prior responses.