Depth of Field
From CosWiki
The cosplayer is in focus, but the background is blurred The simple explanation is that you can make something in the photo look sharp, and other parts of the photo look blurry.
This is highly desirable in cosplay portraits because it can really make the person in the photo stand out. Also, if the photo is taken in a busy convention hall or dealer room, you can blur out the distracting background.
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[edit] Achieving Depth of Field
There are different ways of archiving depth of field. It really depends on the type of camera you have however.
[edit] SLR Style Cameras
Controlling the depth of field is probably the easiest to do with an SLR style camera, be it digital or film.
[edit] Fast Lens
You just need a fast lens that has a high aperture (smaller f numbers). Lenses wtih f2 or smaller will give you a nice background blur when you take the photo.
[edit] Aperture Priority
After choosing your lens, switch to Aperture Priority and open up the aperture as wide as you can (make the f number go as small as you can).
Yes, it's strange that when you mean "larger aperture" you actually need to set the number small. Yes it's confusing. :)
[edit] Point and Shoot Cameras
Similar on how SLR style cameras can blur the background, point and shoots also have an aperture setting and you also want to set as open as possible (smaller f number).
However, because of various reasons that's too complicated to get into, the blur of the background isn't as pronounced as it is with SLR cameras.
[edit] Portrait Mode
Many point and shoot cameras also have a "Portrait Mode" or similar setting. This basically sets sets the camera to open up the aperture. Portrait Mode just sounds less confusing.
[edit] Background
As you can see in the photo, to the left there is a quite a bit of distance between the cosplayer and the closest object. That far away object is blurry.
However, if you look on the right side of the picture. The people on the left is still in focus.
So if you are able, try to find an open area so that objects behind the cosplayer are far away and will be blurred.
[edit] Zoom
In combination with all of the above, what also helps blur the background is if you zoom. If you have a 8x zoom on your camera use it and then stand way back before you take the picture. What often happens is that your only able to take a portrait (from the chest or shoulders up) of the cosplayer, but the background will likely be blurred.
[edit] External links
- Depth of Field on Wikipedia
- Depth of Field on DPReview.com
- Understanding Depth Of Field - Luminous Landscape
[edit] CosWiki Contributors
ZiggyB - Initial author of the article
