Not really the camera to subject distance is dependant on the lens you use. The longer the lens, the further away you have to be to get the same amount of them in the image. Bokeh also has a lot to do with how far away the subject is from the background. If they are 1-3 feet away from something you won’t get any, but put them 20 feet or more away and you’ll get a lot more bokeh. Does that help?

Hi Norman, let me try and attack your questions one at at time.

Lenses: between the 40mm f2.8 and the 50mm f1.8 you will see a slight difference in how the images look but not much. The main difference is the benefit of having almost 4 stops more light coming into the 50mm. In low light conditions that could be a real advantage.

For what the lenses do and which one to pick, try reading this article: https://www.herviewphotography.com/2012/10/18/how-to-choose-right-lens.html

Re precise exposure – I’m not sure I understand your question. Yes you can make a perfectly good exposure using the camera’s meter, and without buying a handheld one like the Sekonic. If you are doing studio lighting with multiple flashes and lights though, it is a lot easier and more accurate to use the Sekonic.

What do you mean by “I’m doing plenty of shots before finally getting the right combination”?
In what situations?
In what mode on your camera dial? Manual? Aperture priority? Shutter priority?
What is it you feel isn’t working – the look of the image, or the correct exposure (amount of light?)

As for your last question, that’s a full on weekend workshop, not something easily answered in a comment. And I’d need more clarification on what “perfect shot” means. In what situation? With a person as in doing a portrait? Sorry, I can’t really say in this case there are too many variables and like I said, a really long answer.

Don’t apologize for asking questions though, that’s how you learn. I just may need more information to help you answer them.

Same with few of the guys out here, I am also a newbie and now fond of shooting pictures of my own, though right now I think I’m the only one liking it. Anyways, I have tried blur effects and testing DOF for my lenses but I was wandering what is the big difference of a Canon 40mm f2.8 to a 50mm f1.8 aside from the maximum aperture.

Also, how can I ever be precise of the right Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO to use for my shots aside from buying an expensive Sekonic light meter, as right now, I’m doing plenty of shots before finally getting the right combination.

Finally, if you can give me more tips how can I get a perfect shot using less flashes dramatically and elegantly.

Sorry to ask too many favours and guys please don’t hate me for asking too much, I just want and eager to learn more from experts.

Regards and thanks

Sorry to

Bill yes it does affect DOF but a cropped sensor generally has more not less. At f22 there is no guarantee you’ll get the entire scene in focus. Yes it also has to do with where you focus. Ideally you want to focus 1/3 of the way in to the scene but that’s pretty hard to measure. Just know that you want to focus closer than mid way.

Hi Robin – if you want to know more about lenses I’d suggest you read a couple other articles I wrote on the subject.

– How to choose the right lens
– How to achieve blurred backgrounds in portraits

As for nature/wildlife and landscape – those are all 3 very different fields, none of which I do much of. For landscape most photographers use a wide lens. For wildlife you need a really long (like 400mm or 500mm) lens with a big aperture as you can afford. You can’t get close to the animals so you need the big lens to really pull them in tighter. Nature could be anything including a good macro lens for close ups of bits of flowers.

Does that help?

Hi Sandeep – it’s a bit of a shot lens to get that really out of focus affect. Eventually you will want to invest in a longer zoom lens or fixed lens.

Is my lens too small to get this effect?

Any guidance on how to do this.

Thanks

Sandeep

Nicely done, it sure does!