camera question.

hi.

i have always wondered how people get the blurry backgrounds and crystal clear images up close. i asked a friend and he said it was to do with apeture? what the hell?

so i have a panasonic tz4 lumix and wondered if i could get photos up close to come out really sharp and the backgorund blurry. can this be done on my camera does anyone know? if so how?

thanks

[jambo]

Depth of field is the term used to describe how much of the picture is in focus. Here's the long description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

the short answer is you want a wide apature, a long focul length, and the subject close to the camera for minimum depth of field. Compact cameras have a small distance between the back of the lens and the sensor meaning they have a larger depth of field for the same apature, makes it harder to get the effect you're after though.

Jambo

You need a camera which offers control over the aperture setting* (aperture priority) rather than fully auto or program settings.

Wide aperture = fast shutter speed, so if your camera has a preset "sport" mode then you might get close to achieving something like to want if you photograph your subject at max zoom in "sport" mode.

As Jambo says, you need:

1. Wide aperture/fast shutter speed
2. Telephoto/zoom set to a long focal length
3. Set the ISO setting on a digicam to the lowest number possible or, if a film camera, use film with a low ISA value



* conversely, if your camera has a "shutter priority" mode instead of "aperture priority" (rare, but some now very old Canon cameras did) then set the shutter speed to the max that you can.

Originally Posted by Jabba

* conversely, if your camera has a "shutter priority" mode instead of "aperture priority" (rare, but some now very old Canon cameras did) then set the shutter speed to the max that you can.

oi my cannon does and it's only 3yrs old, i know thats old in technology terms but not that old. Edit, mine has shutter prority and apperture priority

im getting confused npow...

im going to try the sport mode on full zoom and see what happens. Ill post up the result

[mr.anderson]

Macro mode will achieve this for super close-ups.

What are you trying to Photo?

anything to be honest. just want to get into phtography a little and try some arty shots

[Spiderman]

It takes a bit of reading up on the subject before it clicks Blueto. Its not something sport mode or many of the preset modes on compact digi cams will do well, if at all.

For a real world understanding ry this.... Hold your left hand 6 inches in front of your left eye and focus on it. Notice how the background goes very blury? Well a camera lense is just like your eye to a degree and you have to learn to manipulate it to get the effect you require.
Good luck.

Edit: Top image here explains aperture and depth of field far more simply than the Wiki page does. I understand it and the Wiki page baffled me!