Ideally, you want a lens with a narrow depth of field. It ties in with the depth of field, which is the range where the camera can maintain a sharp focus. The main thing hampering point and shoot cameras is their small image sensor. On the downside, not all digital cameras can turn out beautiful-looking bokeh. It’s possible if the lens opening or “aperture” is fully open, and the camera is focusing on a nearby subject.

Point and Shoot Camera LimitationsĪs shown above, you can create blurry backgrounds with most digital cameras. Honestly, it doesn’t impress me as much as the first photo did, and there are reasons for this. It’s not bad for a smartphone camera.īokeh is a subjective quality, and people will have their own opinions on what looks good or not. Overall, the background blur looks smooth and contrasts nicely with the sharpness of the bottle. You can practically use any digital camera to create blurry backgrounds.Īs you can see from the photo, you can get an idea of what bokeh quality your camera and lens can produce. The point and shoot camera I used was my iPhone. Also, the yellow blinds came out blurry as well. The subject bottle in the foreground looks crisp and in focus, while the vase and plastic flowers look blurry. Try again with the optical zoom zoomed in all the way. Your subject should appear sharp with an out of focus background behind it. Take the picture and look at the LCD for the result. Start focusing on the subject with a half-press of the shutter button, and make sure it’s in focus before you fully press the button. You want it to come out as sharp as possible in your photo. Now hold your point and shoot digital camera near the subject. Pick a background (or set one up) that has reflective surfaces such as glass and metal. To be sure your camera would only focus on your subject, see to it there are no other objects behind at least 5-6 feet. Your subject must be relatively small with enough textures for the camera to focus on it quickly. Any darker, and you’re going to need a tripod. Preferably, you want to do this outside during bright sunny conditions, or in well-lit areas when indoors.

If it doesn’t have one, switching to a “Portrait” or “Macro” mode should do the trick. If your camera has an advanced setting called “Aperture Priority,” make sure it’s switched to this mode first. Steps to Get a Blurry Backgroundįollow these steps to get a blurry background in your photos: Most modern digital cameras have a way of creating these out of focus areas. This time, you only want your subject to look sharp but want the background to be out of focus. When you take a regular shot, you try to get a good focus so that the entire image – with both subject and background – will come out sharp. It’s an example of a blurry background with a “good bokeh” that attracts your attention and draws your eyes towards the subject.īut what kind of bokeh quality can you get with a point and shoot digital camera? Out of Focus Background On the picture above, notice the area behind the subject. It can also be the softness of the light circles and other highlights present across the entire blurry area. If you’re unfamiliar with “bokeh,” it’s a Photography term derived from a Japanese word that means “blur.” Keep in mind that those out of focus backgrounds behind a subject are called background blur, NOT bokeh.īokeh refers to particular qualities, such as the creaminess, and the smooth transition between the colors.

Camera bokeh