The easiest lens to play with shallow depth of field for new shooters is the 50mm f/1.4 (or 35 f/1.4 for crop sensors). The 50mm focal length makes a great introduction by being smaller, lighter & more forgiving than the longer focal lengths.
Your DSLR camera comes with the options of portrait mode, aperture priority mode, auto mode and more. If you want to create a shallow depth of field manually, then you need to set your camera on aperture priority (A) mode with the lowest f settings.
In landscape photography it is important to get as much of your scene in focus as possible. By using a wide angle lens and a small aperture you will be able maximize your depth of field to get your scene in focus. This landscape was captured with a 50mm focal length at f/16.
For the most shallow depth of field, the subject needs to be within a few inches of the iPhone's camera lens. For maximum background blur, the subject needs to be as far away from the background as possible. A telephoto lens attachment can slightly improve the shallow depth of field effect.
A shallow depth of field refers to a small area in focus. Often the subject is in focus, while the background is blurred. A deep depth of field captures a larger area in focus, often keeping everything in the image sharp and clear.
Ideally, for a blurred background, you should use a lens that has at least an f/2.8 aperture available. Lower f-numbers will offer even more blur. A 50mm f/1.8 is even better, with several manufacturers offering options for less than $300. An f/1.4 is even blurrier, but these lenses sit at a much higher price point.
The 18mm is a moderate wide-angle that is great for landscapes, architecture and environmental portraiture. The 55mm end is a short telephoto lens ideal for compressing perspective and taking portraits or closing in on details.
It depends what you want out of that lens. If you shoot street then 18-55 isbetter. If you shoot portraits and need some shallow depth of field then 50mm is tthe choice.
Selecting a wide aperture (the smallest f-value possible), will make the background more blurry.
- Select the aperture priority mode (A or AV).
- If using a DSLR camera and lens, choose the smallest f-value you can.
- Keep the subject closer to you than to the background.
- Zoom in on your subject.
- Take your photo.
Specifications
| Attribute | 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED | 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II |
|---|
| Minimum aperture | f/22-32 | f/22-36 |
| Weight | 210 g | 195 g |
| Maximum diameter | 69 mm | 59.5 mm |
| Length | 75 mm | 66 mm |
Switch your camera to Aperture Priority mode by turning the mode dial to 'A' or on Canon models, 'Av'. Stand back a little and zoom-in your lens – this will accentuate the effect. Choose the smallest f-number that's available.
Why the wide aperture blurs the background moreDue to wide aperture, the rays coming from them through different parts of the lens intersect the screen 5 (a film or a digital sensor) in different points. Wider aperture allows for wider cone of light (so it allows to collect more light and blurs more).
- Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM.
- Fujifilm XF56mm f/1.2 R APD.
- Nikon AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G.
- Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A.
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S.
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S.
- Olympus M. ZUIKO Digital 45mm f/1.8.
- Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 G Master. It's at the top of the tree for Sony owners, both in quality and price.
A 18-55mm lens should really be only used at its widest angle, 18mm. This focal length is more than wide enough for most uses, including landscape photography. Unless you are always shooting landscapes, there really isn't any reason to consider something else for the job.
ISO settings can be used to compensate for your bigger or smaller aperture preference and so can shutter speeds, but they do not directly affect Depth Of Field.
The f-stops work as inverse values, such that a small f/number (say f/2.8) corresponds to a larger or wider aperture size, which results in a shallow depth of field; conversely a large f/number (say f/16) results in a smaller or narrower aperture size and therefore a deeper depth of field.
A shallow depth of field is the small or narrow area in an image that is in focus. Often, the background is blurred while only the subject stays in focus. If the camera is closer to the subject in question, parts of the image will be blurred, resulting in a smaller depth of field, or narrower area of focus.
Along with a large aperture, you can create a shallow DOF by having your subject closer to your camera, using a lens with a longer focal length, and by using a camera with a larger sensor.
To achieve a deep depth of field, the aperture must be set to an f/16 or smaller. A clearer image and larger field of view will also be possible if you station the camera as far away as the subject as possible, and choose a lens with a shorter focal length.
It has to do with the fact that shrinking the aperture makes the “bent light cone” get narrower, which in turn shrinks the circle of confusion. This allows for a wider focus range and hence a larger depth of field.
To get good portrait shots with 18-55mm lens, you need to:
- Keep a good distance between your subject and the background.
- Maximise the focal length to 55mm and zoom in on the face of your subject.
- Compose your shot and click your picture.
Most DSLR cameras will mark this point with a line through a circle (pictured below). The Nikon 50mm f/1.8g lens has a minimum focusing distance of 0.45m/1.5ft from the focal plane mark. For Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens, the closest focusing distance is 0.35m/1.15ft.
They have only a very rudimentary means of manual focus and a barrel that turns when it focuses, making it rather inconvenient to use such accessories as polarizers and graduated neutral density filters, the lens mating to the camera is plastic vs metal, and because of compromises that have to be made in the quality of
For example a 18-55mm lens would have a 3x optical zoom, and a 18-200mm lens would have a 11x optical zoom.
Canon EF-S 17-55m f/2.8 IS USM LensComparing it with the standard kit lens, which is 18-55mm, this lens has much sharper image and excellent low light performance. The f/2.8 is a very decent aperture ratio, which gives great blurred background shots for professional video makers.
The 18-55mm is a wider lens, which can be use to take in larger subjects at a short distance on the 18mm wider end and all around photos on the higher 55mm end. While the 70-300mm is a medium telephoto lense. Otherwise known colloquially as a "zoom lens." Good for further away subjects.
Sharpest apertures, presuming you have enough depth-of-field, are around f/5.6 - f/8. It's as sharp as any other lens I have on a 6MP camera.
You cannot use an 18 to 55 mm kit lens for macro photography. The 18 - 55 mm lens is not a macro lens. You will need specifically a macro lens for macro photography.
16mm when designed for full-frame 35mm cameras and around 10mm for subframe cameras. 15mm and 16mm full-frame fisheyes, when used in cropped cameras, just act as moderately wide-angle lenses, with only a little fishiness visible.
