Portrait at f/1.8 — strong background blur
A portrait taken wide open, with the background dissolved into soft colour.
Camera
Not specified
Lens
Not specified
Focal length
50 mm
Aperture
f/1.8
Shutter speed
1/4000 s
ISO
100
Focus
Single-point AF on the eye
White balance
Auto
Flash
Not used
Tripod
Not used
Why does this photo look like this?
A wide aperture like f/1.8 lets in a lot of light and keeps only a thin slice of the scene sharp, so the person stands clearly apart from the background.
Look at this
Look at the background: the trees have no edges left, only soft shapes and round highlights. The eyes are the only truly sharp part of the frame.
What would change with different settings
Close the aperture to f/2.8 and the background starts to take shape again; at f/8 you can read the whole park behind her.
Aperture comparison
The same portrait at four different apertures.
Demo imagePortrait at f/1.8 — strong background blur
Strong background blur
1/4000 s · f/1.8 · ISO 100
Demo imagePortrait at f/2.8 — moderate background blur
Moderate background blur
1/2000 s · f/2.8 · ISO 100
Demo imagePortrait at f/5.6 — background detail returns
More background detail
1/500 s · f/5.6 · ISO 100
Demo imagePortrait at f/8 — almost everything sharp
Much more of the scene appears sharp
1/250 s · f/8 · ISO 100
What changed
Only the aperture changed: f/1.8 → f/2.8 → f/5.6 → f/8.
What stayed the same
Same subject, same distance, same 50mm focal length, same light. Shutter speed was made faster or slower so every frame stays equally bright.
What happens if you change the settings?
1/4000 s · f/1.8 · ISO 100
Always check your exposure and adjust settings according to the actual lighting and movement.
These are starting settings, not universal rules.
Always check your exposure and adjust settings according to the actual lighting and movement.
More examples like this
Demo imagePortrait at f/2.8 — moderate background blur
1/2000 s · f/2.8 · ISO 100
Demo imagePortrait at f/5.6 — background detail returns
1/500 s · f/5.6 · ISO 100
Demo imagePortrait at f/8 — almost everything sharp
1/250 s · f/8 · ISO 100