Equipment Background blur and tiny dolls - What lenses do i need?

You can use this calculator to figure out the distance of your subject and background from the camera in order to get the blurred effect.

Depth of Field (DoF) calculator | PhotoPills

 

You'll need to use aperture priority mode and set a wide aperture (small f/#)
Get the camera relatively close to your subject.

 

I usually edit my photos in post and that’s when I blur my backgrounds. You can even use free apps like Facetune to autoblur them

 

Try setting the aperture on your 35mm lens to f2.0 ( f = aperture stop).
The smaller the number, the smaller the area is that appears sharp on the image. You will achieve a softer, blurry background that way BUT it might be a little hard to get the face to be sharp. Even a small depth difference can make a difference there (like focusing the tip of the nose might be enough to have the eyes appear slightly blurry). Test around a bit which aperture stop works best for what you want to achieve.
In case you aren't working in manual (M) mode yet, try to get comfortable with it.

Also the smaller the number, the more open is the aperture. More open means more light will be able to enter, making the image lighter. That also helps in low light situations.
This image describes the relationship well, incl. ISO and shutter speed:



And another:


I personally used a 35mm lens in the beginning on my first camera body, and it definitely was possible to achieve blurry backgrounds with it:



(very old picture 2011 or something...)

Regarding the 50mm thing: I had both in the beginning, 35mm and 50mm. On my first two bodies (Canon 1000D and 550D) the 35mm was definitely my favorite. It allowed me to get closer to my dolls (check the minimal focal distance on your lens) and felt just right for my bigger dolls.
Nowadays I mostly use a 100mm macro lens, but I'm also on a full-frame body now. 35mm now actually has a wide angle effect and makes the dolls look distorted when I get too close
The longer focal length also helps to achieve a more blurry background, but in your case you should focus on getting used to using aperture/f-stops first.

 

Generally it's a good idea to go onto eye level with your dolls (unless you want to achieve a very specific look), because that makes them appear more real and in-scale with their surroundings

 

Yeah sometimes that means taking pictures blind. I've taken images of small objects on the ground before, without being able to see anything.
Usually I just put down the camera and vaguely aim at the object and hope it focused on the correct spot

 

Wow this thread is very useful!

 

I actually did a lesson on perspective on my instagram Login • Instagram

I didn't cover depth of field yet, but amazing advice above covers it so great.

But when it comes to blur on small dolls, I am directly, on my belly, on the ground. If it's on a table, then I am on the level of dolls eyes. Using a far away background will help if lenses are quite dark.

I worked with camera without movable screen before, so I'm used to just putting camera on the ground, and... Getting myself to its level. I used ground perspective for most of my other photography work, I'm quite a fan how it works on nature or animals.

If doll is on the ground and you look from the above with f bigger then 2.0- the ground will still be covered in focus area, so when transferring from 3d reality into flat 2d image - all focus area will be in the same sharpness.

Personally I find 50 mm on crop absolutely crappy for dolls. I love blur from my sigma 50mm 1.4 but I found that in nature I have better results with telephoto (using the 200-300 mm range) so far when it comes for tinies. But I have only experience with dolls max 25 cm

I would go bonkers if I would need to blur my backgrounds manually

Some of the photos from 50 mm
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Depending on the camera you have, there might be an app available that acts like an external live view screen and remote, so you can snap without actually getting on the ground?

 

It's a good invention I wish I had. My camera is basically an antique in the world of DSLRs