As mentioned before, Auto mode is accurate much of the time, but one of the problems with Full Auto mode is that it has no idea what type of subject you are photographing and, therefore, uses the same settings for each situation. Shooting portraits is a perfect example. Typically, when you are taking a photograph of someone, you want the emphasis of the picture to be on the person, not necessarily the stuff going on in the background.
This is what Portrait mode is all about (Figure 3.6). When you set your camera to this mode, you are telling the camera to select a larger aperture so that the depth of field is much narrower and will make objects in the background blurrier. This blurry background places the attention on your subject (Figure 3.7). The other feature of this mode is the automatic selection of the D7000’s built-in Portrait picture control (we’ll go into more detail about picture controls in later chapters). This feature is optimized for skin tones and will also be a little softer to improve the look of skin.
Using the best lens for great portraits
When using Portrait mode, use a lens length that is 50mm or longer. The longer lens will give you a natural view of the subject, as well as aid in keeping the depth of field narrow.