Bokeh is a photography term that refers to the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image. It’s often used to create a dreamy or artistic effect, drawing attention to the subject while softening distracting backgrounds. Whether you’re shooting portraits, nature, or street scenes, mastering the bokeh effect can add depth and interest to your photography.
When photographing a subject in a natural setting, you might want to isolate them from the surroundings, making them the focal point of your image.
To achieve this, you can use a wide aperture, which creates a shallow depth of field, resulting in beautiful bokeh behind your subject.
Imagine you’re at a park and want to photograph a friend sitting on a bench surrounded by flowers. You can set your camera to aperture priority mode and adjust the aperture to f/2.8 or even wider if your lens allows. Position yourself so that your friend is about 6 feet away from you and the flowers are at least another 5 to 10 feet behind them. This distance will help create that soft, blurred effect in the background, allowing the colors of the flowers to pop while keeping your friend in sharp focus.
Capturing city life at night can be a fantastic opportunity to experiment with bokeh, especially when there are bright lights in the background.
Using a wide aperture can help isolate your subject against the city lights, turning them into beautiful, soft orbs of color.
Picture yourself on a busy street at night, with a friend chatting and laughing by a street lamp. Set your camera to manual mode or aperture priority, and again, choose a wide aperture like f/1.8. Position your friend a few feet in front of the lamp, ensuring the background is filled with blurred lights from passing cars or storefronts. This will create a lovely bokeh effect that highlights your friend while the lights swirl gently behind them, enhancing the mood of the scene.
When photographing small subjects like flowers, using bokeh can help emphasize the details of the petals while softening any distracting background elements.
This technique is particularly effective in garden settings or during nature walks.
Consider a close-up shot of a blooming flower. Set your camera to macro mode and choose an aperture of f/2.8 or wider. Get as close as your lens allows while ensuring the background is filled with other flowers or greenery that are further away. This will create a stunning bokeh effect, making the subject flower sharp and detailed while the surrounding elements dissolve into a soft blur. You’ll notice beautiful colors mixing in the background, enhancing the overall beauty of the image.
By incorporating these examples of how to achieve a bokeh effect in photography into your practice, you’ll be well on your way to creating stunning images that capture attention and convey emotion.