Photography Tip: How to Get Blurry Backgrounds

A frequent question that seems to pop up is how to photograph a subject in front of a blurry background. This effect is actually rather simple and can even be done on a point and shoot camera. Here's how to do it:

If you have a digital point and shoot camera/compact camera:

1. Set your camera to "macro" mode (usually indicated with a flower icon -- consult your instruction manual if you can't find it).
2. Get really close to your subject (make sure the focus is on the subject).
3. Get far from your background.
4. Take the picture.

If you have a DSLR (or can manually set your aperture on your camera):

1. Open up (wide) your aperture: set it to a small number (e.g., f/1.2, f/2.8, f/5.6, etc).
2. Get really close to your subject (make sure the focus is on the subject).
3. Either get far from your background or use a long focal length (telephoto!)
4. Take the picture.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. :)