bokeh Archives - Real Life Captured

How to take a photo with a blurry background

So you have a new camera, and you’re dying to take a professional looking portrait photo. You know, the type of photo where your subject is in perfect focus, but the background is soft and blurry. How do you do it? It all starts with understanding aperture. How to create a blurry background is the #1 thing people ask me when it comes to taking artistic photos.… My answer is always the same: that they need a low aperture lens. You might have heard the word aperture before, but what the heck is it? Aperture is the main factor in whether the background[...]

Photography Lessons

Recommended Camera Lenses for Beginners

how to choose a cheap beginner camera lens DSLR canon

Trying to decide which lens to buy? The options are overwhelming! Clients and friends frequently ask me what lenses I use and recommend. I wanted to do a quick post about which lenses are my favorites as there are literally hundreds of available options. Many people think if they buy a pro camera, their photos are automatically going to be amazing. Unfortunately you can have a great camera... but pair it with a crappy lens and your photos will be lacking. To make pricing more attractive, many high end cameras ship with cheap, high aperture "starter" kit lenses. N[...]