Photo tip: background blur

How come some people take pictures that look "professional" while other people with the same camera take shots that look like any other picture? Well one of the tricks is to isolate the object or person by bluring the background. I'm not going to get too much into the technical photography jargon, but here's what you need for the simplest and most effective way:

- SLR camera

- Lens that has a big apeture (how big the lens opens). You'll see a number like 70-200mm 2.8. Or 18-70mm 3.5-4.5. To measure lens aperture, the 2.8 and the 3.4-4.5 is what you focus on. The lower the number, the more blur you're going to get (and usually more expensive the lens generally).

Here's what you do on a dSLR camera such as the Canon Digital Rebel XTi or Nikon d80:

- Set to aperture priority (A on Nikon dials, Av on Canon dials)

- Set to lowest number (e.g. 1.8, 2.8 etc.)

- Leave the flash off (assuming you're shooting in daylight - best in the shade)

- focus on the spot you want to shoot and fire away! Try getting close, standing far, different angles etc. The amount and quality of blur will depend on the distance and lens.

There you have it. Not only does shooting in aperture mode allow more natural light but it blurs the backgrounds. The above shot was shot with a 50mm 1.8 lens standing about a foot away. This lens doesn't zoom but it's only around $100...totally worth it! I shoot most my portraits this way. Pretty much all manufacturers make this standard lens.