Olympus E-20N - Manual (Page 54)

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Shooting Portraits (Focused Subject,
Blurred Background)
When you shoot a portrait, you can create the effect of the subject floating against a
blurred background. In order to achieve the effect of a floating subject, set the aperture to
a small value such as f2.4 (large aperture opening) and use the zoom at telephoto to
take the picture.
The smaller the aperture value, such as f2.0, (the
larger the aperture opening), the shallower the depth
of field, which causes the background to blur. You can
easily confirm the current aperture value by reading it
in the viewfinder before you take a picture.
• If you want to adjust the aperture value, set the
mode dial to A (Aperture priority mode) and adjust
the aperture value by turning the main dial or sub
dial.
• The aperture value can be adjusted within the
following ranges:
Max. TELE f2.4 - f11
Max. WIDE f2.0 - f11
Setting the Aperture Value (
➞ 72)
• You can achieve more blurring in the background
with the TELE setting than the WIDE setting.
• Try to put as much distance as possible between
the subject and the background.
• When using the camera outdoors on a clear day, or
under other extremely bright ambient light, you may
not be able to select a large aperture value (small
aperture opening). In that case, take the shot using
an ND filter.
(Filter diameter: 62 mm)
Aperture value
Viewfinder