The Bokeh Effect, Better Camera Operation

Don't Get Trapped into the Bokeh Effect!
If you're sitting in front of your computer screen scratching your head and wondering what Bokeh is, it is a term used for the out of focus/blurry area of a photo. When amateur photographers usually get a brand new lens with a wider aperture, they tend to just shoot with the aperture wide open all the time and lose a lot of great details in their photos because of this.

One of the most purchased lenses is the 50mm f/1.8. The larger f-stop value allows for lots of light to hit the sensor but doesn't get very much in focus. If you want to shoot a portrait of your daughter or puppy, try changing the f-stop to f/2.8 or f/4 so that more gets into focus and the details in their eyes are crisp.

Hold It Like a Pro
There are some big giant red flags as to what not to do when holding your camera.

Don't:

• Hold it with one hand because of the high potential for a blurry shot.
• Hold it with outstretched hands because of the high potential for lack of critical focusing and blurry shots.
• Hold it with only four fingers.

Do:

• Keep all or most of your fingers on the camera to maintain a good grip on it.
• Keep it closer to your body to maintain stability.
• Hold your breath as you're taking a shot.
• Be creative in how you do this. The Sony NEX-5 has an articulating LCD screen that allows users to hold the camera the way that old-school medium format film users did-by looking down into the viewfinder! Only you'll be looking down into the LCD screen.
• Ensure that your subject is totally in focus.