How to get beautiful bokeh in a headshot with a 50mm f/1.4?

<p>I'm still an amateur, but I'm trying out portrait and headshots.</p>

<p>Whenever I attempt to try to take a shot of the subject, using my CANON 40D, I have to get pretty close to it, but when I'm far, I don't get that much bokeh. I'm always interested in bokeh in headshots and portraits as the background, but I don't know my mistakes since I'm new into the field of portrait. Tell me what I'm doing wrong or please give me tips and advice.</p>

<p>I stand about a meter or two away, but I'm not getting that portrait i desire. I tried Manual, Av, A-DEP mode and they won't work. I keep thinking that A-DEP mode has something to do with it, but I'm not sure.</p>

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<p>Do I have to be very close to my subject? Does portrait photography involve blurry backgrounds, or does it mean that the background doesn't always have to be blurry? I'm new to this so yea.</p>

<p>Use the lens wide open & you will have bokeh. If you want bokeh stopped down you should get a longer lens, about 85-100mm. </p>

<p>Bryan, you have to control the depth of field by shooting at a low aperture (use Aperture priority mode). Also make sure your subject isn't too close to whatever background is behind them.<br>

The danger here is at you may find part of the subject is out of focus, so you will have to experiment with combo of distance from subject and or different focus points or manual focus. Use a tripod if you have one to minimize shake and provide consistency.<br>

Higher DOF (F16-/22) will give you more of the background in focus (like for landscapes).<br>

You probably want to start at F/8 and go down from there. If you don't have enough light for the lower apertures just crank up the ISO (maybe start at 200) to 400 or 800.<br>

Good luck I am sure others will "pile on"!<br>

Check out the books "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, available on Amazon and "Digital Portrait Photography" by Steve Sint, great learning tools what will guide you as you learn.</p>

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<p>I find that for single person portrait using my 20D and 50mm f/1.4 the best apperture is between f/2.0 and f/3.2 at typical portrait distance. Provided that focus is done on the eyes, at f/2.0 you have barely enough DOF to cover from tip of the nose to the back of the head (some DOF is wasted in the front, but I want eyes sharpest possible). When photographying kids f/3.2 gives a bit more room for their spontaneous movements. Anything wider than f/2.0 may be not sufficient even to have both eyes sharp (if shooting at slight angle), and anything smalled than f/3.2 doesn't blur background sufficiently.</p>

<p>Keep in mind, amount of blur also depends on the distance separating subject and background. If at these appertures you're not satisfied with amount of blur, try moving subject more far from the background if room allows.</p>

<p>Just Google: Shallow Depth of Field! Read and practice until you get it! For portraits, the easiest thing to do is get the 85mm!</p>

<p>Bryan,</p>

<p>There are many things that affect depth of field. Aperture, distance from camera to subject, and focal length of the lens will have an effect. It is not always necessary to have the background out of focus to have a good portrait. It could be the background helps to convey information about the subject or creates a certain mood. Often, an out of focus background does make your subject more the center of interest.</p>

<p>It is not usually a good idea to have an area in front of your subject or even parts of your subject out of focus. An out of focus background is very nice and focuses attention on your subject. Parts of your subject out of focus will draw attention away from what is in focus. It is difficult to go wrong with having the entire subject in focus. Out of focus areas in front of your subject will also draw attention away from your subject.</p>

<p>As others have suggested, it would be good for you to read about depth of field and how it affects the viewer's perception of the subject. There is much information about this on the internet.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

 

<p>As I understand the unspeakably fuzzy concept of 'bokeh', it refers to the appearance of OOF areas, not the DOF specifically. This results from a huge combination of factors--relative lens-to-subject and lens-to-background distances, the contrast of the background, the color of the background, the aperture used and lastly the lens itself--optical construction and diaphragm shape. Practice will teach when the right conditions obtain.</p>

<p>More to the point. Do NOT, as a student, get hung up on nonsense like 'bokeh'. Learn to see first. Learn how to compose an image, how to work with a subject (if doing portraits is your thing) and how to make your camera a extension of your hand and eye. Understand exposure. That's a lifetime task in itself. Then, if you are still curious about how to make the background blur contribute to your image, you will have the tools to do it.</p>

<p>You do NOT need another lens.</p>

<p>Be ready to break the rules. But one rule to keep in mind, expecially when working with blur, is to make sure the forground is in focus. Overall, considering the three links, the mechinics of depth of field seem to be working. But try to make sure that blur contributes rather than detracts. And the contribution we usually seek is isolation from the surroundings. The strong vertical in the flower shot, for instance, distracts me. Making it blur does not make it go away, and since it is "connected" to the flower, and it looms so much, it overwhelms the shot and the subject. </p>

<p>When I am working with a 50mm I keep it f2.2 or wider and more importantly, make sure there are some elements in the background to throw out of focus.<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/8344047<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/5028055<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/3940561<br>

And 35mm<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/10720419&size=lg<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/10704334&size=lg</p>

 

<p>I shoot almost all of my portraits with a 50mm f/1.4 and absolutely love the look I get from it. My typical portrait aperture is f/2.8 for an individual, but I've used anywhere from f/1.4 to f/5.6, depending on the look I'm after.</p>

<p>As mentioned before, make sure you're shooting in a mode where you can control the aperture (aperture-priority or manual), keep your aperture below f/5.6, and keep some distance between your subject and the background. The best things you can do are read, experiment and practice!</p>

<p>Here's one I shot at f/2.8:

Here's one I shot at f/1.4: