Your Result:
Your backgrounds might be too detailed or busy, and the dog is getting lost
That soft, blurry background that makes a subject pop out of a photo? It comes from a combination of three things: a wide aperture (a low f-number like f/1.8 or f/2.8), some distance between your dog and the background, and the lens you’re using.
And that last one is bigger than most people realise.
If you’re shooting with anything shorter than an 85mm lens, you’re working against yourself from the start. A 50mm at f/1.2 can produce some blur, but it’ll still feel busier and more cluttered behind the subject than the soft, creamy separation you get from a 135mm, for example. The compression that comes with a longer lens is a huge part of what makes those backgrounds look the way they do. It’s not just about aperture.
Aperture is the other big one. If you have a kit lens that only lets you go to f/4.5 or f/6.3 (or anything in between) you’re going to be letting LESS light in to your camera (and therefore probably getting more noise) and you’ll be dealing with more detail everywhere.
Above:
One photo taken at f/6.3 (a common “Maximum aperture” for kit lenses when zoomed in), and the same photo at f/1.8. Notice the background. The f/6.3 image has ISO 4000, compared to ISO 500 for the f/1.8 image.
Then, two images with Loki the same ‘size’ in the photo. One taken with a 35mm lens, one with the 135mm.
One thing to try:
Put as much distance as possible between your dog and whatever is behind them as this will make the background blurrier. Back them away from the trees, the fence, the wall. Even a metre or two makes a noticeable difference.
And if you’re in the market for a new lens, anything 85mm and above will change your results significantly, OR getting a lens with a nice wide maximum aperture (f/1.8 or wider).
Want to go deeper?
Aperture, depth of field, lens choice and background separation are all covered properly in Starting Point: specifically in the camera settings course!
Ready to fix this properly?
Most people think they need to learn “magical edits”. In reality, most people need better foundation skills.
Starting Point is the entry tier of The Learning Journey, my membership for pet photographers who want to take photos that actually feel how they imagined them.
It’s not a quick fix or a beginner’s sampler. It’s a curated library of foundation lessons covering the things that make the biggest difference to your photos… in the order that makes sense to learn them.
50 lessons. Around 30 to 40 hours of video content. All the things I wish someone had told me at the beginning.
What's Included in Starting Point?
📸 Capture the Moment
- The Beginning Stage lesson library including the 4 core courses with around 50 lessons and 30 to 40 hours of content:
- Mastering the Foundations
- Light
- Camera Settings
- Beginning Editing.
- Starting Strong: A 5-week guided beginning for new members, so you know exactly where to start and what to focus on first. Recordings included and available!
- Selected event replays: Access to replays of events where the content is relevant and useful for where you are.
💡 Learn, Grow & Connect
- The Inspawration community: The same community as Complete Access members. One space, no hierarchy, genuine peer feedback and connection.
- Monthly challenges: Structured prompts to get you shooting with intention, not just waiting for the perfect moment.
- Edit and Chill sessions: Watch me edit in real time. No performing, no perfection. Just the actual process.
- Critique video access: Watch monthly critique sessions and learn from the feedback given to other members’ work.
All for only €14 per month!
No contracts, no minimum term.
Or… find out more!
