What is the name of the lens that allows you to take a close-up portrait and it blurs out the background? I am not being very descriptive here, but I'm hoping someone knows what I'm talking about. I'm looking to get one for a DRebel Xti.

This sounds like a depth of field question, to blur the background I would suggest shooting at as large an aperture as possible. IF you have the 50 mm 1.8 or 1.4 try shooting at an aperture of 2.0 or wider (lower numbers are a wider aperture)

Wayne

I would definitely recommend the 50mm 1.8 MKII lens!!! :thumbsup:
I find, shooting with this lens at more than F2.8 makes only one eye sharp and the rest of the face soft. I prefer shooting at F/2.8 - F/5.6.
Here are 6 examples...

F/1.8 - Not too bad if you step back a little and your not so bothered about getting any clarity in the eyes. I know this is a back shot but it was the only shot I could find at 1.8. Like I said I'm not a fan of 1.8.
http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=35616&size=big&cat=

http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=38873&size=big&cat=
F/2.5 - although I have softened the image you can see how soft the lips are in comparison to my other images.

http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=47704&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=246535
F/3.5

F/5.6
http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=45350&size=big&cat=

and F/5.6 again
http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=32807&cat=500&size=big&ppuser=246535
I wanted to show you this exapmle because even at F5.6 you can still get a nice bit of bg blur with this lens.

F/5.6 again
http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=51283&size=big&cat=

I hope my examples help you.

Ali

The advice the others have given is very good. To blur the background, you want a shallow depth of field. To acheive this, you need a larger aperture (smaller f/ #). The EF 50 f/1.8 that Alison mentioned is a very good choice, and you can't beat the price for a lens with this fast of an aperture.

You also mentioned "close up" shots which makes me think you're refering to a macro lens. A macro lens will allow you to focus closer to your subject. If this is what you're looking for, this can also be aceived by adding close up filters to the end of your lens, or adding extention tubes between your camera and your lens. These are much more inexpensive optioins than a dedicated macro lens, but they do have some drawbacks.

What is the name of the lens that allows you to take a close-up portrait and it blurs out the background? I am not being very descriptive here, but I'm hoping someone knows what I'm talking about. I'm looking to get one for a DRebel Xti.

There is also an alternate method. Using an editing program, apply a mask to the subject you want sharp. Then, apply a Guassian blur to the unmasked section of the image. This has the advantage of allowing you to have large DOF where you want it but simulated low DOF, to any degree you want, where you want the DOF to be low.

It's better if you can do the bg blur in-camera to be honest. And at £90 for that 50mm 1.8 lens where's the need to do it with an image application. :D

It's better if you can do the bg blur in-camera to be honest. And at £90 for that 50mm 1.8 lens where's the need to do it with an image application. :D

Only sometimes. A cheaper lens solution, such as the excellent 50mm/f1.8, limits you to 50mm! The editing method works well for all lenses without additional expense. Plus, you can vary the effect as much or as little as you want regardless of the lens itself. The downside is that it takes up lots of time to do it right when first learning.

It's better if you can do the bg blur in-camera to be honest.


I have to agree with Alison here..Do everything "in camera" first such as exposure,compostion etc..

Jurgen

Mama Moon, for what you want (portrait photography, good background blur) it would be desirable to shoot with something at least 100mm or higher. This focal length is ideal for portraiture, and the longer the zoom, the more out of focus your background will be, especially with a wide open aperture, such as the 2.8. Telephoto lenses offer low DOF while wide angle (50mm and wider) offer greater dof (meaning things behind, and slightly in front of, the subject in focus may be sharp) The XTi has a 1.6 crop factor, meaning that if you use a 50mm lens it will be roughly the equivelant of a 75-80mm lens on a 35mm camera. A good lens that I would recommend to you ( because I have one and have been using it quite extensively) is a Tamron 28-75 Di 2.8. It is very compact, good quality, offers a constant 2.8 aperture, and is very reasonably priced. It also has close focusing ability which means you would be able to get very close up to your subject and be able to focus. This focal range would be roughly the equivelant of 45- 120mm, ideal for portraiture and many other things. Give it a look into