Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptnAwesomee
On a DSLR camera how do you make really good self portrait photos? How do you take a picture were the person looks really clear, and the background is blurry.
I want to take pictures like this,like in some of the pictures the background blurry, and I really like the effect on these photos. The oversaturated effect, it reminds me alot of my LC-A+ analog camera ?
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Those photos seem to all be taken professionally. So, in all cases, there was a photographer holding the camera and taking the shot.
It's possible to do it yourself, of course. Get a tripod (or prop your camera up on something) and either set a timer or use a wireless remote to trigger the camera. It's more difficult to do because you can't easily adjust the camera, nor can you "see what the camera sees" once you're on the other side of the lens.
As for the "blurry background," that is accomplished through a shallow depth of field. Briefly, there are three things that affect the depth of field. Listed in order of impact:
1) Distance between the camera and the subject (closer = more shallow)
2) Lens focal length (longer = more shallow)
3) Lens aperture (wider = more shallow; if you're unfamiliar with the numbering system, smaller numbers mean a wider aperture, e.g. f/1.4 is very wide, whereas f/4.0 is not as wide)
Lens aperture is the value that most photographers make the biggest deal out of, because it's the one thing that you
always have control over, and that doesn't require any changes to your shooting style or positioning. However, lenses with wide maximum apertures cost more than those with smaller maximum apertures.
Tl;DR: use a timer and a lens with a wide aperture.
Sample shots? Sure.
500mm (yes, five hundred) f/8:
Highest Isolation by
Velocity of Sound, on Flickr
Versus
12mm f/4.0:
This Cruel and Beautiful World by
Velocity of Sound, on Flickr
Note that the shot at 500mm has a very shallow depth of field, even though the aperture is a good deal smaller than the shot at 12mm.
More traditional portraiture focal length, 50mm f/2.0:
Radiance at the End of Autumn by
Velocity of Sound, on Flickr