Blur the Background
A wide aperture (small f-number) gives you a shallow depth of field — only a thin slice of the scene is sharp, and everything in front of or behind it falls away into blur. It's the look that reads instantly as "real photograph": the subject lifts off a creamy, soft background.
That soft separation is called subject isolation, and it does two jobs at once — it flatters your subject and it hushes a busy or ugly background into a smooth wash of color.
Two things deepen the effect: open your aperture as wide as it goes, and put real distance between your subject and whatever is behind them. The farther back the background, the more it melts.
Aperture Priority at your lowest f-number (f/1.8–f/4 if your lens allows). Put distance between subject and background, focus carefully on the eyes (or the nearest detail), and let the subject fill the frame.
It counts when your subject is tack-sharp and the background is a smooth, soft blur that doesn't compete for attention. If the background still distracts, open wider, move your subject farther from it, or step closer to your subject.
The assignment
Make a portrait — of a person, a pet, a flower — where your subject is razor-sharp and the background melts into soft blur.
Place your proof, unlock the next.
With a free account your shot lives on this assignment — you earn the XP, your streak grows, and the next technique opens.
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