This morning I want to show you a little tip on eliminating a distracting background from your picture. While it would be fabulous to have a beautiful garden to snap all our pictures in, the reality is that our backyards (or whatever area you have) aren’t always perfect. By using the Aperture Priority mode in our camera, we can increase the bokeh (or blur) in our picture and help eliminate distracting backgrounds.
I set my camera to Aperture Priority mode, and set my aperture to f7.1. In this first picture, notice the distracting fences, trees, overgrown grass, etc. behind my daughter.
By widening the aperture, I can bring her more into focus and blur out some of the background so I changed my aperture to 4.0. The background is better, but you can still distinguish trees, fences, etc.
For this final picture, I changed my aperture to 2.8 and notice how the background almost disappears and all you notice is the cute girl in the pink hat.
The simplest way to eliminate distracting backgrounds, of course, is to simply move your subject to a new location. But sometimes that’s not an option, and by utilizing the Aperture Priority mode on your camera, you can be in charge of what’s in focus and up front and important in your picture.
Cristina says
Great examples, Melissa! She’s such a cutie! :)