Many beginners often asked me, how to create a blur background for portrait photo (bokeh)? Actually it’s quiet easy. Actualy, you need a DSLR camera, because it has a large sensor and you can change the lens as needed. However, you also can try using a compact camera, although the results are less than the maximum. Anyway, a beginner who read this article must already have a DSLR right? Then let’s try some simple steps below:

Step One: Set your lens zoom to its maximum point
For example, if you have 18-55mm lens, then set the zoom to 55mm. If you have a telephoto zoom lens like the 55-250mm, it will be better. Use this lens and zoom it 85mm to 135mm. This focal range is ideal for portrait photo.

Step Two: Place your model as far as possible from the background.
The farther the distance between background and model, the more bokeh you got.

Step Three: Set the lens aperture as large as possible
The larger aperture, the more blurry the background. If you have a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, then set your aperture to f/5.6 (the maximum aperture at 55mm for 18-55mm lens is f/5.6). If you are not satisfied with the results of the 18-55mm, I recommend some prime lens such as 50mm f/1.8 or 85mm f/1.8. These lenses are the bokeh monster with a very large constant aperture, f/1.8.