Lens Love

What kind of camera do you use?  What is your favorite lens? How do I get the sharp pictures of my kids with a blurry background?  I hear these questions all the time people!  I get a kick out of helping others pursue their photography passion, so feel free to continue to ask away!

Here is an oversimplified, Cliff Notes version of the answers...

Step one: Buy a digital SLR camera body like this one. You do not need the kit lens!

Step two: Buy a lens that will allow you to shoot with a large aperture (key to the dreamy blur).  The Canon 50mm 1.4 is my favorite.  It pretty much lives on my camera at all times.

Step three: Set your f-stop to a low number (under 2.0) which will give you a large aperture (practice shooting in Manual mode, scary but crucial). 

Step four: Focus on your subject and shoot!

Step five: Practice. Practice. PRACTICE!  This is a digital camera.  We are no longer wasting film.  I take between 200 and 400 pictures at each shoot and generally end up with about 30-40 that I am really happy with.  

This was all very confusing to me in the beginning (and still is to some degree).  If this all makes perfect sense to you, don't tell me!  It is very much a hands-on, trial and error kind of endeavor.  I think the resulting keepsakes are worth the effort!