Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Taber, AlbertaI have a Canon Power shot S15lS , anyhow, I looked in all the advanced info and can't seem to find how to take the picture with the background blurred out?? any one have any ideas? thanks!
It has to so with the aperture or F-stop you choose. This is automatically adjusted if you choose the portrait mode on the automatic settings. Or, you can set it to AV on the dial ( if is has that feature) and reduce the f-stop number to 4 or lower if possible. That makes a wider opening in the lens and blurs the background. Of course , then you have to compensate for the shutter speed and light also.
I'm on my way out the door, but will hep you with more later. I got a new digital SLR camera this week and have spent HOURS playing with all this stuff. It is a blast
Taber, AlbertaThanks Tammy! I've had this camera for about 1.5 years and I'm still playing around 
Brenda, I am learning so much and today the light bulb actually went on for me with how the settings all work together. I had a film SLR many years ago so really wanted to get this digital SLR.
My other digital camera has the TV , AV, P etc settings , plus the preset modes and takes great photos. (I almost bought the one you have actually.) I just wanted to be able to change lenses and really do the manual focusing with the DSLR so upgraded on a deal I couldn't pass up from a friend 
Anyway....... did I answer your question in a way you can understand ? If you choose the AV mode the shutter speed will adjust automatically for you, and give you a lower Fstop. I suggest taking a photo of your bear outside with trees or something in the background at Aperture setting ( Fstop 2.8 or 4) then take the same photo but change the Fstop to 22. you'll really be able to see the difference in how much of the trees are in focus. #4 is much more blurry than #22. It also will depend how far your background is from the bear , and if you are zooming in on the bear. Zooming can create more background blur.
The lower the Fstop number the wide the lens opens, but the shorter the distance it can focus ( a shallower depth of field) .
There are some wonderful photography videos on Youtube that I've been watching. It makes more sense (to me anyway) to see it explained on video than in a book. I want to get into macro photography. I've tried taking some water drop photos , now that is addictive LOL. I encourage you to really just take a day and play with the settings. Take notes of what settings create what shots. Sorry for rambling, I am no expert at all, I am just excited 
Here are some of the water drops I captured just by experimenting. You can do this too on your camera 
Taber, Albertathanks Tammy! I googled it too never knew so much info was on google. Great photos by the way 
I'll take some pics outside too and use different backgrounds and do you know what I actually figured out today?! How to use not just the macro but super macro! after all this time!! 
I never knew it took such good shots so close. I'm pretty excited myself :dance:
Cleathero CreationsWow Tammy love the photo. My dream is to have an SLR but it is a little way off yet.
Posts: 3,540Cool!!!! Those water drop photos are waaaaay neat, Tammy! Thank you for doing such a great explaination. I have a Canon PowerShot A60, and have only just 'shot from the hip' as it were. Now that you've explained to look for the Av setting, I see mine has that. I'll have to play with it 
We have some sunshine for the first time in ages, so I'll play around with taking pics later today. 
Glad you all like the water drops. I did not use my Digital SLR , just my regular Digital camera. I do want to clarify that they were done by using a fast shutter which is controlled with either the T / TV/ S setting , not AV setting ,as they need to have a fast shutter to catch the water. Seriously though guys just google photo stuff or , just watch some youtube videos and you will be inspired to experiment. Here are some to get you started- just ignore the camera brand being demonstrated it may have some features that your camera doesn't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt6AvJ7WZSI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZTNqw7H … re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe8DGAuG … re=channel
Those point and shoots that have some manual features on the dial can do a lot of neat stuff. It just takes practice, patience and understanding of what they do :)
Sorry to hijack the thread Brenda :redface:
Taber, Albertathank you for all that info Tammy! You're a star :photo:
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)In case we miss his postings, will you remind us (through the Subscription link) when he's posted the next lessons, Tammy?
I liked these - they're not especially for the brand-new beginners to Apertures and ISOs, but if one has their manual (His #1 Tip!! - Read your Manual) and you can experiment - Write down your settings for your practice shots cuz guaranteed you'll never remember a single one! - then try to work on just __one__ of the things he talks about - Depth-Of-Field or Backlighting with your Flash-As-Fill - until you're __really__ comfortable with that and don't need to refer to the book for every shot you take.
Thx - for posting these!
MalagaIt is difficult to get a blurred background using a compact camera. Even at f4 you will get nearly anything in focus!
The best thing to use is a SLR or DSLR with a telephoto lens. With a 200mm lens you can have the bear sitting on i.e. a piece of fabric and just with a f8 you will get a blurred background (even if the background is just 10 or 20 cms. away from the bear. If it is a big bear you will probably need a higher f-stop number, otherwise the bear's feet might be in focus but the bear's face will be out of focus.
If possible try not to use a flash. Daylight will give you better results.
Using a compact camera, you will have to choose the smaller f-stop number and try to place the bear as far from the background as you can (the longer the distance between the bear and the background, the better (you will need to crop the picture afterwards) so, a tripod is a must for two reasons: because the image will be sharp enough to allow you that cropping and because using a small f-stop number means you will have to reduce the speed, so it might be all blurred if handheld. Try not to increase the ISO number as it will result in a "grained" picture unless you use a good camera (latest models of DSLR produce no grain even at very high ISO)
MalagaIt is difficult to get a blurred background using a compact camera. Even at f4 you will get nearly anything in focus!
The best thing to use is a SLR or DSLR with a telephoto lens. With a 200mm lens you can have the bear sitting on i.e. a piece of fabric and just with a f8 you will get a blurred background (even if the background is just 10 or 20 cms. away from the bear. If it is a big bear you will probably need a higher f-stop number, otherwise the bear's feet might be in focus but the bear's face will be out of focus.
If possible try not to use a flash. Daylight will give you better results.
Using a compact camera, you will have to choose the smaller f-stop number and try to place the bear as far from the background as you can (the longer the distance between the bear and the background, the better (you will need to crop the picture afterwards) so, a tripod is a must for two reasons: because the image will be sharp enough to allow you that cropping and because using a small f-stop number means you will have to reduce the speed, so it might be all blurred if handheld. Try not to increase the ISO number as it will result in a "grained" picture unless you use a good camera (latest models of DSLR produce no grain even at very high ISO)
Thanks Ana . I think you explained that better than I did
Bobby, I'll try to remember to watch for future videos. Funny though, I'm one of those people that read the manual , but being a visual learner it makes more sense on the videos for me anyway. You are right, some of that stuff is a bit more advanced , but may give folks a general understanding of what the terms mean hopefully.
That's always a good start
MalagaThank you, Tammy
I can't give any help with bear making as any of you know much more than I do, so I was glad I could be of help in a a matter that I do know quite well !
:-)
