A composite set of three photos, taken in Edinburgh, August 9th, 2014 (Victoria Street). 50mm prime lens, Canon 400D.

Taking Arty Photos With Blurry Edges

I've written this guide/intro specifically for those people who might have a Canon series DSLR (300D, 400D, etc) and are looking to take pictures with 'blurry edges'. Whilst this is a common enough effect, and quite easy to achieve in post-production (using Photoshop or similar) what they normally mean, is a blurry background - so just the subject is in focus. This is slightly different, and requires some basic camera knowledge... but isn't beyond the beginner, equipped with a bit of know how, and a reasonable lens. I've written it based upon a Canon 400D camera, as that's the one I use, but the principles are the same regardless of make or model.

First things first, settings and lens types.

Firstly, make sure settings on your camera for picture quality are high! The little screen on the back of the camera will look fine regardless, but think about the image size you're getting out. The 450D will apparently go up to 4272 x 2848 for instance which is massive. You can either shoot .jpg or RAW (CR2). Unless you're into post processing the convenience of shooting .jpg (and thus having a useful photo to start with) is probably worth it.

A lot of people will have the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens - which is often bundled with the camera. Lets examine what those number might mean, in case you don't know:

EF-S is the mount type. The Canon camera bodies can take EF-S or EF mounts. (If you happen to have any old prime lenses of a different fit you may be able to get an adapter to use it. I have a few old manual nikon lenses, which are good quality, so I bought an adapter - it works, but it is hard to focus them properly as the Canon camera has no split prism eyepiece, like a manual focus camera would have. It's a case of take lots of pictures, whilst adjusting the focus). Ok : 18-55mm. This is the zoom focal length. You'll probably be using smaller (1.6x) CCDs so the actual figure is not technically accurate on a 300D/400D/500D/600D etc. 50mm on a fullframe (such as the 5D) camera is generally quoted as the most natural amount of zoom, but becasue of the '1.6x' the most natural is nearer 30mm on your/my camera. Big numbers = more zoomed in. So 18-55 is fine from 'a bit zoomed (55mm)' to 'a bit wide angle (18mm)'.

If you are looking for focusing just parts of the frame the f/3.5-5.6 is the important bit. This is the aperture (the size of the hole that allows the light in). Smaller number = wider aperture. Some lenses (costing > £1000) might have f/1.2 whereas normal people 'make do' with smaller apertures (the largest aperture would be about f/1.8 on a 'budget' lens)

Changing the aperture has TWO significant effects, changing the 'depth of focus' and the amount of light coming in.

Use a large aperture.

At your largest aperture (f/3.5) you'll let in lots of light. This is often A Good Thing. It means you can take sharper pictures, as your ISO (the 'film' sensitivity) can be lower (ISO1600 = very grainy, ISO100 = very sharp). Also, it means your shutter time can be lower and still allow in enough light ... small shutter speed = less camera shake, and ability to capture moving objects without blur.

At small apertures (f/5.6 or higher dependent on lens) you'll get a large depth of focus - so almost everything - regardless of distance from the camera - will be basically in focus, but you'll allow in less light which means higher ISO, and/or higher shutter time, to compensate. This is the principle that fixed focus / disposable / pinhole cameras work on. (Tiny aperture, and they advise using ISO400 film).

So to make our arty out-of-focus background, a small 'Depth of focus' (large aperture) is used. We'll one thing that is in focus, but have a blurred background. If you look at my lego-minifigure/bee photos you can see I have been using this at it's extreme. For this I've used a fixed 50mm 'prime' lens (non-zoom) with an aperture of f/1.8 ... a lens I've bought second hand for about £60, but you can get similar effects (but not quite as pronounced) with the kit lens set at f3.5.

Use Aperture Priority.

The Cannon cameras have a lot of different shooting modes, from fully automatic, to fully manual - but for this kind of shot the best mode is 'Aperture Priority' (Set it to 'Av' on the top dial). This is the one that mean you can set the Aperture and ISO, and it'll fill in the details for shutter speed.

Focusing The Lens. (AF/MF)

Your lens will have an AF/MF (auto focus/manual focus) switch. Normally AF is the best option, but MF is much quicker to take the shot (but can be hard to get in focus!). For now, sticking with AF is fine - but you could take one shot with AF - to set the focus, then switch to MF to keep the same focal distance as you take more shots. (I did some of this when photographic the bees).

Focal Point Selector.

The Canon cameras use a seven point focus 'point' selector. Make sure you have ONE of the 7 point focus options selected. (not the one where it picks for you, or uses an average of all of them, or averages a few of them). This is selected using the button on the top right button on the back on the 400D and 450D. I leave mine set to just the centre focal spot.

If I want to 'focus' on something that isn't in the centre of the frame, then I can point at the subject, half-press the shutter - which focuses the lens, then reframe the shot as required, and then complete the shutter press to take the photo.

Light Metering.

You'll also want probably 'partial metering' (rather than 'evaluative' metering) mode selected (this mean that the camera assesses light levels just at the centre of the frame, rather than the average). This is done on your camera by the button on the back at somewhere on the four-buttons-in-a-circle-layout - one of the ones surrounding the 'set' button (depends on model as to which one it is).

A word about ISO, and photography low light.

So... set the camera in Av (aperture priority mode), set the lens aperture to f/3.6 (using the wheel next to the shutter), and start with ISO100 if you are in bright conditions/or using a tripod. If your images come out too dark - then don't be afraid of higher ISO if needed, the 'graininess' is not ridiculous. For the bee photos I was at ISO200, as it just wasn't sunny enough to use ISO100 and still have a fast enough shutter speed to 'stop' the bee in the air without motion blur problems).

As a side note, a high aperture, but higher ISO setting are what's needed for low light photography. In low light conditions the AutoFocus on the lenses is a bit unpredictable, so Manual Focus can be the way to go. If you ARE using every using manual focus, then my handy hint is to set your camera to 'continuous' shooting, instead of single shot, and press and hold whilst slightly changing focus. You'll end up taking 25 pictures instead of 1, but you can discard the 24 that are out of focus afterwards. It's nigh on impossible to tell using the viewfinder/screen if is it exactly in focus.

Anyway, I hope that's of some use. The 400D (and, I presume the other camera in the range) are dead useful cameras, and very flexible - but a bit intimidating if you don't know about these things. I'm not sure which bits are general, rather than specialist, knowledge, so apologies if this is pitched at a low level and telling you stuff you already know.

Feel free to leave any comments regrading this intro/guide, or different camera models.

In Space...

Written for a 100 word sci-fi competition.

In Space No One Can Hear Ice Cream.

Astroman Reuben was in his bunk, oblivious to the blaring warning sirens. They'd been repeating their sinusoidal rising and falling tones for hours now - ever since the Soylent Pink Instafood had run out.

He was still laying there six hours later when his MP5 player batteries finally ran out, and the wailing invaded his ears. He knew what this meant - a slow starvation, alone and adrift in The Yestromo. The time for music was over.

He decided to ceremonially jettison his music player.

Open the ipod bay doors please HAL.

The Game's Afoot

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective

Board Game (of sorts) - Published by Sleuth Games (1981)

No, it is nothing like ‘Cluedo’. At all.

Initially the player reads a piece of prose describing the scene at 221b Baker St. as Sherlock and Watson learn of a new case. Perhaps a series of robberies have been committed targeting high value jewelry, with the press have dubbing the thief the ‘Westmister Cat’… Coincidentally each of the item’s stolen over the past month was insured by the same insurer… But the latest one has a twist – the owner of the (now missing) necklace has been found shot dead in her bedroom… And she was heir to a fortune that will now be inherited by a cousin. A cousin who has amassed lots of gambling debts… And she was having an affair causing public embarrassment to her diplomat husband, a renowned collector of vintage firearms… And Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard has taken the victim’s brother in custody, who just happens to run an auction house specializing in jewellery…

Not all this information will come out at once of course – this will be up to the player to find out. There may be something useful in today’s issue of The Times newspaper (each case has it’s own three page newspaper), but the bulk of the information will be found by visiting people or places. A ‘London Directory’ is supplied, and anyone mentioned will almost certainly be listed, but instead of a phone number there is a reference leading to a paragraph in the ‘Clue Book’. These clues lead to more contacts, more places to visit, more people to see. The enclosed large map of London helps visualize the relationship of places and people visited.

Eventually it is up to the player to decide they have enough information gathered, and the quiz book is turned to. A series of previously unseen questions will be posed. Typically ‘Who did it?’, ‘Why did they do it?’ plus other questions that can reveal just how much the player may have missed in a case … ‘Who was responsible for the elephant smuggling ring?’ What!? Points are awarded for correct answers – with points deducted for using more clues than Sherlock solved the case in. The clues that he used, and then finally Sherlock’s dénouement of the case can be read. The player is then free to feel either smug or stupid – depending on the outcome.

This game is not like a board game – having perhaps more similarities with a choose-your-own adventure – but with a much more ‘free form’ feel. This adds a light RPG feel to the proceedings.

Within the box are 10 cases, and the quality of the writing is very good. Sherlock Holmes / Conan Doyle aficionados may nit-pick but the overall flavor is very in keeping. Occasional anachronisms (describing things in cm rather then inches) sometimes break the mood a little, but certainly not enough to ruin the game at all.

There is virtually no replay value for the 10 cases, although it can be fun to return to un-explored avenues after the case is closed to see what might have been said (and find out about the elephant smuggling!). A mechanic for competitive play is included, but this is surely a game for solo or co-operative play. Our experience was co-operative for all ten cases (varying between 3 and 8 people) – with players taking turns to read clues aloud and discussing the cases as they progressed … much enjoyment being derived from the strange accents each of the London inhabitants we met seemed to mysteriously develop!

Value for money depends on your mileage for the ten cases – each sitting lasting somewhere between an hour and a couple of hours plus (investigating a path of red herrings, or thoroughly exploring all of the bizarre things mentioned in the newspaper will lengthen the game considerably – but add to the flavor of 1890’s London). Long out of print eBay will be your retailer of choice for this title I suspect.

This game is very 'chatty' and an ideal accompaniment to drinks and nibbles. Utterly recommended for social gaming, unless the thought of reading aloud is terrifying.