Once I was sure that bokeh circles could be created, I decided on my shooting position and angle. The edges of the dandelion and the water surface sparkled as they reflected the backlight-ideal conditions for creating bokeh circles. I thought of capturing a close-up shot that would portray the forlorn nature of this lone dandelion flower I found on the banks of a lake. Instead of using multiple exposure shooting since the petals were defocused, I created bokeh circles from the reflections on the water surface in the background. Large bokeh circles can be created from backlight reflecting off object edgesĮOS-1D X/ EF180mm f/3.5L Macro USM/ FL: 180mm/ Aperture-priority AE (f/3.5, 1/1,250 sec., EV+0.7)/ ISO 100/ WB: CloudyĪ dandelion flower near the water caught my eye, and I closed up on it with my 180mm macro lens. Let’s take a look at what techniques were used. Then that golden light will often render the background similarly golden, and you’ll find that your bokeh becomes wonderful and creamy.Bokeh circles were created from the sparkling reflections on the lake in the background to add a special touch to this close-up shot of a dandelion flower in bloom by the lake, taken with a macro lens. If you shoot with strong frontlighting-that is, if the sun comes from behind you, over your shoulder-position your subject so that beautiful golden light spills onto the background behind your subject (while your subject remains shaded). Where the techniques diverge is in the placement of the sun. Ideally, you should be shooting in the early morning or late evening when the sun is low in the sky. Both methods also involve having a bright background. This method of generating stunning bokeh is unique, in that it can produce amazing creamy bokeh when used one way, and amazing geometric bokeh when reversed.īoth ways involve making sure that your subject is in the shade. Put the subject in the shade, with a bright background Geometric bokeh is not all that common in photographs, but can be fairly easily produced. I used fairy lights to create the geometric bokeh in this image. So in order to increase the creaminess of the bokeh, increase the distance between your subject and your background. The background is then rendered in the form of a lovely blur, rather than as a more in-focus mess. A greater distance between the subject and background means that the depth of field (the area that is sharp within the image) ends far before the background. Why does having a good distance between the subject and background enhance the quality of creamy bokeh? When I talk about the subject to background distance, I’m referring to the distance between the elements of the photograph that are in focus-your subject-and the elements of the photograph that are out of focus, i.e. As in the first tip, this applies to both creamy and geometric bokeh, but I’m going to focus on creamy bokeh here. Maintain a good subject to background distanceĪnother essential aspect of producing pleasing bokeh is keeping a good distance between the subject and background. Only then will you start to achieve that beautiful, creamy look and stunning bokeh. To generate better creamy bokeh, widen your aperture to decrease the depth of field. To generate the creamiest bokeh, you want to blur the background as much as possible. This is because a larger depth of field means that the background is rendered less blurry. If you stop down your lens so that the depth of field is far less shallow, you’ll find that you lose the possibility of nice, creamy backgrounds. When properly utilized, this type of bokeh can add an impressive edge to your images.Ī wide aperture assisted me in producing a really creamy bokeh background. This particular shape depends on the nature of the lens, but circles, hexagons, heptagons, and octagons are all fairly common. Geometric bokeh is out of focus highlights that actually take on a geometric shape. The first is what I will call geometric bokeh. However, there are two types of bokeh that I’m going to focus on here. You’ll finish with the knowledge to creatively generate stunning bokeh in your own images.Ī quick word on great bokeh: In general, bokeh simply refers to the background blur generated by a lens. Then I’ll explain bokeh-enhancing situations such as backlighting. I’ll first discuss techniques such as increasing the subject to background distance and shooting wide opened. In this article, you’ll find four ways that will enhance your ability to produce pleasing bokeh, and therefore increase your photographic versatility and skill. Yet how do you generate stunning bokeh consistently?įortunately, there a few simple ways to create high-quality background bokeh. Bokeh refers to the blur in the background of an image, and for photographers, stunning bokeh is like gold.
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