Why Is My Background Not Blurry Enough?

Your background usually isn't blurring because you're not close enough to your subject — background blur depends far more on subject distance than on aperture alone. You shot at a wide aperture expecting a soft, blurred background, but the background is still distracting and mostly in focus.

Likely causes

Not standing close enough to the subject. background blur depends heavily on subject distance, not just aperture — a wide aperture from far away still produces a lot of depth of field.
The background is too far behind the subject. a background right behind the subject blurs far less than one many metres back, even at the same aperture.
Using too short a focal length. wider lenses inherently produce more depth of field at a given aperture and distance than longer ones.

The fix

Get physically closer to your subject, or use a longer focal length instead of relying on aperture alone.
Increase the distance between your subject and the background if possible.
Check the actual depth of field for your specific distance and focal length before assuming a wide aperture alone will be enough.

Problem solved — now make the shot count.

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Want the full lesson?

This topic is covered in depth in Lesson 2: The Exposure Triangle.

Get this right next time with the Depth of Field Calculator.

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