How to take blurry photos

Photography is one of your favorite pastimes: as soon as you have a few minutes of free time, you take the opportunity to experiment "new" shooting techniques and improve your skills as an amateur photographer. One of the things you would love to learn how to do now is the blurry photos, which represent a milestone for all budding photographers. If that's the case, there is no doubt: you've come to the right place at the right time!

In this guide, in fact, I will have the opportunity to explain you in detail how to take blurry photos using some functions present on some smartphone models and, to obtain more professional results, with the Reflex. You will see, being able to take photos with the foreground subject in focus and the back blurred (a technique that takes the name of bokeh) is not as complicated as it might seem.

So, are you ready to get started? Yup? Very well: make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need to concentrate on reading the next paragraphs and, more importantly, try to put into practice the instructions I will give you. I am sure that, thanks to my "tips", this time too you will be able to complete your "business". I wish you good reading and, above all, have fun!

How to take blurred photos behind with the Reflex

How to take blurry photos behind on Android and iPhone

It is your intention make blurry photos behind on android and iphone, know that you basically have two "paths" that you can take: take advantage of the bokeh function of your device (if present) or use third-party apps. Find everything explained below.

Camera app bokeh function

A device is possible Android or iPhone capable of making photos with a blurred background, you can take advantage of the Camera app bokeh function to take such pictures. The function in question, which is now present on many Android and iPhone smartphones, allows you to obtain results that, although not the same as those obtainable with a professional camera, are still appreciable, thanks to the blur that is applied in a " intelligent ”via software.

A device is possible Android, know that the function in question is present on almost all flagships of Huawei, Samsung, Google, Honor e Xiaomi, although the procedure for activating it varies from device to device. Usually you have to start the app Camera, scroll the menu relating to the various shooting modes and select the one that allows you to take blurry photos (eg. HD Portrait, Portrait, Close focus, Etc.).

The function that allows you to blur the background is also present on the models of iPhone products in recent years: 7 iPhone Plus, 8 iPhone Plus, iPhone X, iPhone Xr, iPhone Xs e iPhone Xs Max. To activate the mode that allows you to take blurry photos on iPhone, you need to start the app Camera, slide your finger left or right, and select the shooting mode HD Portrait. Turning it on and taking a photo of a subject will automatically blur the background. Furthermore, on iPhone Xs and Xs Max, it is possible to select the intensity of the blur effect through some functions included in iOS 12.

If your smartphone does not integrate specific functions to blur the background, you can still try to get the bokeh effect getting as close to the subject as possible you want to focus and making sure that the latter is as far away from the background as possible. To "help" your device's camera to focus on the foreground subject, tap on the screen in correspondence with the subject of your interest (perhaps moving away and approaching, should the camera find it difficult to focus) and take the photo by tapping on the shutter button present in basso.

Obviously, the level of blur will not be comparable to what can be achieved with the specific functions present on the latest generation smartphones, but it's always better than nothing, right?

App to blur photo background

If you want, you can use app to blur the background of photos which work pretty well. Let me tell you about a couple of them: they could be useful especially if your smartphone does not integrate the blur functions I told you about earlier.

Instagram (Android / iOS)

If you have an account Instagram, I suggest you use the official app of the famous photographic social network, available for Android and iPhone, as it integrates a function thanks to which it is possible to take photos with a blurred background in an extremely simple way. I anticipate, however, that the feature in question works exclusively with human faces and not with other types of subjects.

To use it, start the Instagram app, log into your account and tap thelittle man located at the bottom right. Then tap the blue button capacitor positive (+) lead located at the top left, swipe right or left the available shooting effects and select the one named HD Portrait.

Therefore, frame your face or that of the person you intend to take the photo of and, when you see that the background becomes blurred, tap on the shutter button placed in the center of the screen (bottom) to take the photo. At this point, all you have to do is decide what to do with the photo you have obtained: download it to your device, by pressing on the symbol of freccia rivolta verse il basso located at the top right, publish it in your story by pressing the button The tua storia, or send it to other users, via the function Send to.

AfterFocus (Android/iOS)

Also AfterFocus can be useful for blurring the background of your photos in post production. If you have never heard of it, this app allows you to manage the depth of field and choose the areas of the photo to keep in focus and those to blur. It is available for both Android (free) and iPhone (€ 1,09).

After installing and starting AfterFocus, tap the button Album, to act on a shot already present in the Gallery, or on the button Camera, to take a picture and blur it immediately afterwards. After opening or making the photo you want to blur, choose whether to use the automatic blur tool or the manual one (I recommend using the latter, because the automatic one is not always efficient).

After pressing on the option Manual and have tapped the button Continue, color the subject you want to keep in focus and, after this delicate operation, press the button Next. If you are satisfied with the result, tap the button Save and then Yes to save the changes made.

How to take blurred photos behind with the Reflex

If you wish to learn a take blurred photos behind with the Reflex, know that you can do it without too much difficulty: you have to open the aperture as much as possible, get closer to the subject you want to stand out from the background (especially if the lens used is not particularly bright) and take the picture. I would like to tell you, however, that to obtain a perfect blur, it is advisable to use bright lenses (e.g. with an aperture of f / 1.8).

Before explaining how to proceed, I want to tell you that for this part of the guide I used one Canon EOS 1300D on which the kit lens is mounted 18-55 mm of the Canon with f / 3.5 mm aperture. The indications that you find below and the references to menus and buttons, therefore, may not correspond to those of your camera, if you have a different one. If you experience difficulties, consult the user manual of your Reflex.

To take the photo with the background out of focus, you must first turn on the SLR by moving to ON the switch located on the body of the machine, and rotate the selection dial to choose the manual shooting mode, which should be marked with M. After that you have to press on the button Av / + - present on the machine body, place your index finger on the main bezel and move it all to the left, in such a way as to set the maximum aperture.

At this point, if you have a low-light lens, try to get as close as possible to the subject of the photo, so that the latter is away from the background. Then look inside the viewfinder and, after composing the image, half-press the shutter button to focus on the subject and keep pressing it to take the picture.

If you want more information on how to blur the background with the Reflex, I suggest you take a look at the guide I linked to you, in which you will find further explanations on what to do.

How to take blurry photos