Nikon D800E Statues , The Vatican In portraits , your focal point is your subject only , to achieve this , open the aperture to its limit ( in my case f / 2.8 ) to get the shallowest depth of field . It creates targeted sharpness and blurs out the rest of image . This works miracles in capturing a soft bokeh effect in portraits and wedding photography without having to rely on post production techniques . If planning to buy a new lens specifically for portraits aim for f / 1.4 or f / 1.8 as they will enhance the shallow depth of field effect . Also , choose lenses that go over 50mm because this effect is better achieved with long lenses and close subjects . This shot was taken with ISO 1000 with an exposure of 1 / 50 at f / 2.8 with a 14-24mm .