willcoxmmk

this is the 35 at 1.4
 
this is the 56 at 1.2
 

 
 
 
But as you can see the distance with the closest subject is such that even here you don’t get all that much separation.
 
 
this is a 50-230 at 6,7 
 
 
this is a 55-200 at 4,8
 

Hi all, I am newbie from Sheffield, England with a brand new X-T 10 - and I would like to get out of Auto mode...
 
I've always been a big fan of shots with a shallow depth-of-field and a nice blurry / creamy background.  I have tried to emulate some of these myself with my X-T 10 and XC 16-50mm kit lens, but have largely failed.
 
Here's a shot of my back garden shot at f18.  Ignore the terrible composition and the slight under-exposure.  Sorry it's more of a thumbnail than an image, but there appears to be a new guy limit on image files sizes.
 

 
 
And here's a shot of my back garden at f3.5.
 

 
 
Now there is a bit of background blur when I am shooting wide-open (f3.5 is as wide as the XC kit lens will go).  But not a whole lot - and a lot less than the blurry / creamy backgrounds that you see in the magazines, manuals and "how to" guides at even higher f numbers.  Am I doing something wrong?  Or do I just need a faster lens to get the effect I am after?  Right now, the only way that I can blur the background the way I want to is to use the "miniature' filter.  That's a cool look, but also rather stylised.  And it feels like cheating... 
 
Thanks in advance.  Be kind, remember I am newbie!
 
 
MW