Teach me how to Focus!
By Dekcruz
@Dekcruz (6)
May 23, 2012 8:11pm CST
I recently bought this camera Fujifilm finefix s2980 and i'm wondering how to capture a photo that focus only a subject and slightly blur everything on the back. Can i do that with this camera. Please teach me how to do those kind of effects.
2 responses
@jjzone44 (917)
• United States
26 May 12
It's not very easy to capture images with blurring (soft) backgrounds with a point-and-shoot camera. The small sensor which allows mega-zooms on cameras like that don't lend themselves to shallow depth of field, which is the effect you are seeking. If I wanted such an image on one of my DSLR cameras, I would simply choose a small F number which is a large aperture opening, and that limits depth of field. That being said, all is not lost, as there are things you can do to maximize blurring in the background. One is to have as much distance between your subject and your background as possible, while having your subject to lens distance as close as possible. That way the focal point of the camera is close and you will introduce some background blurring. Also some Fuji cameras have a "Pro Focus" mode which increases the blurring effect, so if you have that by all means use it. The other helpful suggestion is to post process the images, and apply blurring to the areas of the image that you wish to have soft focus.
@thewonderboy (7501)
• India
25 Aug 12
Hello jjzone44, I think you have clearly explained it here 
. I have also tried trick almost like this. I put the an object very close to my lens and captured an image which so far from it. It does really work. In my camera, there is an option named 'soft snap'. Is that the same thing that you have mentioned 
?
. I have also tried trick almost like this. I put the an object very close to my lens and captured an image which so far from it. It does really work. In my camera, there is an option named 'soft snap'. Is that the same thing that you have mentioned ?@jjzone44 (917)
• United States
25 Aug 12
Soft Snap might be the same thing as Pro Focus. Different manufacturers use different names because of copyrights. Soft focus could also be a mode that allows for softer portrait images, it just depends on the camera maker. The other thing you can do is post processing in an image editing suite like Photoshop. You would select the area that you want sharp, then invert the selection and apply blurring filters to the background to create that effect.
@thewonderboy (7501)
• India
25 Aug 12
I understand what you said. I was also searching for the option that you have mentioned. I have seen that facility in many cameras that are used by the professionals. So I think it is only available for the professional cameras .
.