Page 45 - Learning How to Photograph with your DSLR Camera 2nd Edition Jan 2021

Here are some examples.

Portraits

An open aperture like f/1.4 to f/2.0 is suitable for
portraits where you want the focus to be on the
eyes and facial features while blurring the
background. This blurring of the background is
called bokeh, from the Japanese word meaning to
blur. In general, for family shots you need to bump
the aperture a bit to around f/4 to f/5.6 for a group
of around 6-8 people. For several rows you may
need to go to f5.6 to f/8. At f/8 you start to sacrifice
some bokeh, but the first priority is to have your
subject(s) in focus.

Figure 21 Michelle - 1/80, f/2.5, ISO 100 at 50mm

Isolating the Main Subject

To avoid distracting elements in
your photograph use a
wider f/stop. In this example I
wanted the bird to stand out
sharply against a blurred
background. Notice this was shot
with a telephoto and the bokeh
will differ depending on the lens
you are using at the time.

Figure 22 Willet - 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 400 at
500mm

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