Picture Taking Creativeness
Most professional portraits have the subject in focus, and the background out of focus. This keeps the background form distracting the viewer from the person or subject.
Difficulty: Moderately EasyInstructionsThings You’ll Need:A camera with a manual settingSomeone or something to be your subjectAn area where the subject can be at least 8-10 feet from the background. (Depending on your camera, you may not need this much room.)Step 1Find where you can change the settings, such as automatic, manual, aperture priority, on your camera. Set the camera to aperture priority, if that is an option, or manual, if it is not. On a basic point and shoot, this may be more time consuming, as all of the settings are accessed through menus. You may find this easier if you have your users’ guide handy.Step 2Find where you can choose the aperture, or “f-Stop.” Set this to the smallest number (ie- 2.8, 4.0, etc.) If you are using aperture priority, you don’t need to change any other setting. If you are using the manual setting, you will need to adjust the shutter speed. You will have options such as 30, 60, 100, 250, etc. These represent fractions (1/30, 1/60, etc). You want to choose a high number, such as 100, to start. Take a picture, and if it is too light, make the shutter speed a bigger number. If it is too dark, make the shutter speed a smaller number.Step 3After you set your camera’s aperture and shutter speed, position your subject 8-10 feet from a wall. It will be easier to tell if the background is out of focus if it is a pattern, or if there are decorations on the wall. Stand as close to your subject as you can to take the picture, and focus on them. Snap the picture, and check out your beautiful portrait with a soft background!