Bokeh is the area of ​​the frame that is out of focus. Objects that fall into the blur zone are blurred, making them less recognizable, but sometimes very beautiful. With the help of bokeh in the picture, you can draw whole abstract pictures. Beautiful bokeh is very much appreciated in many genres of photography, and especially in portrait and still life.

In the West, there is even a whole direction of photography - “Low DOF photography”, that is, “photography with a shallow depth of field”. These pictures are what we're talking about today.

NIKON D810 / 85.0 mm f/1.4 SETTINGS: ISO 250, F1.4, 1/80 s, 85.0 mm equiv.

Which lens blurs the background better? Which lens has good bokeh and which has bad bokeh? There is a lot of controversy on the Internet about this. However, in the end it's a matter of taste: some like the blur of one lens, others like the other. It is only important to keep in mind that for different models of lenses, not only the strength, but also the nature of the blur can vary significantly. In general, when choosing a lens for working with bokeh, you can give a few basic tips.

The bokeh of prime lenses is better than that of zooms.

Typically, lenses with a focal length of 35 to 200 mm are taken to work with bokeh. Wide-angle lenses are rarely used, as they are difficult to get a shallow enough depth of field to create bokeh. Also, wide-angle lenses rarely have nice background blur.

To work with bokeh, use high-aperture optics. Ideally, lenses with aperture greater than 2.8. They will turn out to strongly and beautifully blur the background.

Portrait prime lenses are ideal for these criteria, including fifty dollars: Nikon AF-S 50mm f / 1.4G Nikkor, Nikon AF-S 50mm f / 1.8G Nikkor. This lens is a great choice to try your hand at bokeh on APS-C cameras. In addition, these lenses are not so expensive.

I used a Nikon 85mm f / 1.4D AF Nikkor lens when working with a full-frame Nikon D810 camera. This model is famous for its interesting pattern. However, it is worth noting that the lens is quite old, and its autofocus will only work on cameras that have a “screwdriver” focus drive (from modern devices, the Nikon D7100, Nikon D600, Nikon D610, Nikon D750, Nikon D800, Nikon D800E, Nikon D810). However, this lens also has a newer version, in which autofocus will work on any camera. This is Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85MM F/1.4G. The Nikon AF-S 85mm f / 1.8G Nikkor lenses and the affordable Nikon AF-S 35mm f / 1.8G DX Nikkor lens, specially designed for amateur APS-C DSLRs, will also do a good job of creating beautiful bokeh.

NIKON D810 / 85.0 mm f/1.4 SETTINGS: ISO 100, F1.4, 1/160 s, 85.0 mm equiv.

NIKON D810 / 70.0-200.0 mm f/4.0 SETTINGS: ISO 400, F4, 1/125 s, 130.0 mm equiv.

By itself, choosing a good lens will not give you a beautiful shot with great bokeh. Of course, you need to think about the choice of subject, location, lighting and background. I have some practical advice for this:

Of course, taking pictures with bokeh is on the street. The farther the background is from the subject, the more blurred the background will be. If the subject and the background are close to each other, you are unlikely to get a lot of blur. It is best to place the background from the object at least a few meters away.

It is worth thinking about the choice of shooting time, and hence the lighting. The most expressive light occurs when the sun is low on the horizon, that is, in the morning or evening.

The shots with bokeh will perfectly complement the lights of cars and street lamps. In the blur zone, they will turn into beautiful circles. By the way, on New Year's Eve, it is especially important to include New Year's illumination lights in the frame, with which the center of all major cities is generously decorated.

Do not try to completely blur the background by shooting some small objects from as close as possible. So the background can blur too much, become homogeneous. Pictures look interesting where highlights and objects in the background, being not sharp, do not lose their shape.

It is important to remember that in addition to bokeh, there should be an interesting subject in the frame. It can be a pretty blade of grass, a leaflet, an element of urban infrastructure (a detail of a bridge, a parapet, a mailbox - whatever). A sharp object in the frame will help the viewer not completely lose touch with reality, it will be the center of attention.

A little about shooting options. The most important condition for obtaining a shallow depth of field, and hence bokeh, is an open aperture. Shoot wide open! It is most convenient to control the aperture in the “A” (aperture priority) mode. All other parameters are selected based on the shooting situation.

NIKON D810 / 85.0 mm f/1.4 SETTINGS: ISO 250, F1.4, 1/125 s, 85.0 mm equiv.

Good afternoon, readers of my blog! I'm in touch with you, Timur Mustaev. A new day has begun, and once again I suggest you replenish your knowledge of photography. Today I want to tell you about what bokeh is in photography.

This style was created for creative individuals, photographers who are not only versed in their photographic equipment, but are also ready to experiment, be creative and create unique images. Banal photos no longer surprise anyone - they are a thing of the past!

Therefore, I want to know how unusual your photographs are, how courageous you are in realizing your ideas?

The concept of "bokeh"

Bokeh means interesting, beautiful blurring of the frame. It can be similar to the fog that is located at the edges of the photo or in the background. The background is blurred, while we can distinguish the outlines of colored circles, snowflakes, stars and other figures on it.

As a result, you have both the object (person) in the center of attention, since nothing superfluous around it distracts the viewer’s gaze, and an exquisite background that undoubtedly enlivens the frame.

Bokeh is a pretty easy way to make a simple photo look like candy!

Let's move on to how to make it with your optics.

Camera setup

What determines the effect of bokeh in photography? Typically, curly bokeh is created with special attachments for the lens, and to get background blur, sometimes it is enough to set the values ​​correctly on the camera.

Bokeh largely depends on the depth of space depicted in the picture, and the degree of sharpness of objects (DOF). In turn, the mentioned parameter is determined by:

1. : The more the aperture is opened, the greater the percentage of blur in the frame.
2. Focal Length: A longer focal length produces more noticeable bokeh. If you have a zoom lens, then just scroll its ring.
3. Distance to the subject: the closer you get, the more likely the desired “fog” will appear. Just keep in mind that for each lens there is a maximum close distance from which the device can still adjust the focus.
4. The distance from the subject to the background. It is desirable that the subject was at least 1 meter from the background. This will blur the background in the most beautiful way.

For bokeh, not only the camera setting is important, but also the initial aperture. In fast and usually expensive lenses, this ability to perceive light is much higher.

Portrait and macro lenses boast attractive blur. The first ones were made specifically for shooting people and highlighting them against the rest of the background, the second ones - to focus on small objects and increase their scale (insects, flowers, mechanisms, etc.). In such optics, it is a priori possible to set the maximum open aperture, which will enhance the impression of bokeh.

Bokeh from improvised materials

Amateurs and professionals, in general, people who “ate the dog” in the study of photography, do not always spend money on expensive accessories or modern technical things. Many of them create something incredible from improvised means. The same is the case with bokeh, which we can do at home. Doubt? Then read on and try it yourself.

So, the options for the necessary materials:

• A cellophane bag is a tool for creating classic fuzziness around the perimeter of a picture. In this part, the image will be in the low visibility zone, which will be able to hide all the flaws in these places. Here's an added bonus for exploring the possibilities of bokeh! To do this, you just need to wrap the bag around the lens so that it slightly covers the view. Secure the cellophane with small pieces of tape.
• Cardboard (or thin plastic): the desired shape is cut out in its center. A homemade filter should be well fixed on the lens.
• Various fabrics, colored scarves, etc. They can also be used by placing them on the edge of the lens, similar to cellophane.

Thus, you do not need to purchase a set of special filters for your camera to get an impressive background image in the picture. It takes practice to get the hang of it, but don't try to shoot everything and everyone with bokeh. Use this technique appropriately - only where it will really decorate the picture, complement it, and not spoil it.

Here I am writing an article for you, and I remembered a moment from my life. I'm sitting here and I'm bursting with laughter. Somehow, in the distant past, I bought myself a fifty-kopeck lens (50 mm. f / 1.8). I set it to the most open aperture, namely 1.8, and began to photograph everything in a row, looking at the camera display and admiring how beautiful the photos are.

But when I threw all the photos on the computer, I was disappointed. Some of the photos where I photographed only one object or one person turned out relatively well, and I was impressed with the bokeh. And all the rest, for example, groups of people, buildings, and so on, were not in sharpness. Therefore, be careful when setting the minimum aperture value.

Bokeh in photography is subjective. And consider the capabilities of your lens, or rather its ability to make a smaller or larger depth of field. Evaluate how beautiful and pleasing bokeh looks on your camera. According to some reviews, even the shape of the aperture blades of a particular lens model can affect the features of the final bokeh.

If you are really interested in this style of photography, and you want to study it more clearly and in detail, as well as understand your camera, learn all its capabilities, then I recommend you a video course - " Digital SLR for beginners 2.0". Awesome course, he personally impressed me with his simplicity and literacy.

All the best to you, Timur Mustaev.

Bokeh effect - what is it? The bokeh effect (bokeh, bokeh or bokeh) came to us from the land of the rising sun. This is how the “blur” or “fuzziness” that is present in the photograph is denoted.

Bokeh is a description of the nature of the lens pattern in the blur zone.

The artistic merit of bokeh depends on the characteristics of the optics.
The more petals the lens aperture contains, the more round the aperture becomes. And the more interesting picture gets bokeh.

There is an opinion that zoom lenses have less beautiful bokeh than fixed focal length lenses.
Experienced photographers say - the more expensive optics , the more elegant her bokeh. And the photos become even more beautiful.
Bokeh visually highlights the main an object on the photograph.

Bokeh enriches it. Soft, lyrical and not intrusive.
Bokeh is a word that briefly describes image , which was created by the photographer, or rather, .
In that – a wide range of emotions and everything that felt authors, creators of photographs.

Emotions are subconscious, resulting from the impact on a person of secondary objects. Those that are in the blur zone.

How to make bokeh?

Bokeh is a photography technique.

• Switch to manual camera mode.

This will give you full control over the shooting process.
And give the camera the right amount of light, knowingly assuming the result.

• Set your camera to a telephoto lens.

And if you have a ZOOM, set to the position of the maximum focal length.

• Fully aperture.

It is at the open aperture that it manifests itself best bokeh effect.

• Set the required sensitivity.

In accordance with the recommendations, which are mentioned in the article.

• Switch to work mode.

In that case, of course, if you need a high quality photo.

• Install .

• Determine the future photograph and take exposure metering.

• Install .

• Decide if you will be photographing or if you need a tripod for this scene.

• Get ready for the fact that you need to do a few takes.

With different.

All of the above refers to the technical side of creation.

Now what?
And now - about the artistic component of your work of art.

Try to pick up and so that the unusual background enriches the main subject of your photo.
Of course, each unique. Each You will create in new, sometimes unique .

However.
One of the components photography is your ability to master the available photographic equipment.
This takes practice.

The second component is that you own. And experience that will allow you to create a competent photo.
And only after that - your emotions and ability to truly

You have probably seen photos with a blurred background more than once - in the language of professional photographers, the blurred background effect is called "bokeh". It is used very widely - in a variety of photographic genres, and is often an integral element of photography.

Bokeh (bokeh) - the word is Japanese, and means - "blur" ... And it really is! True, not all blurring will be - " bokeh". This word is usually called the blurring of the background of a photograph that occurs at low depth of field of the depicted space(DOF) behind a clearly captured object.

Bokeh in a portrait. © Karpin Anton
Aperture = 1/4.5
Focal length = 70mm.

How to get bokeh in a photo? What technique to use?

Of course, already from the definition it is clear that bokeh is the native daughter of depth of field. And, guided by the principles of creating photographs with a small depth of field - it is logical to assume that in order to create this effect, the depth of field should be the smallest!

Let's give an example of camera settings to get a small depth of field and, accordingly, beautiful bokeh...
We take a camera: for example, Canon 550D, 600D, 1100D or Nikon D3100, D5100 or any other SLR camera and set the "aperture priority" (AV) mode, then look - what is the minimum aperture of your lens. For example - most "standard" lenses = 3.5 or 5.6 (or it can be marked as 1 / 3.5 or 1 / 5.6), and we install it. Next, we set the maximum focal length of the lens (for "ordinary" lenses, this is most often 55 mm, in simple terms - we do the "maximum approximation"), and set it ... then we approach our photo model as close as possible, for example, half a meter and taking pictures! If the bokeh is not visible, we are getting even closer

What technique will help us create the most beautiful bokeh?

A lens with an extremely small depth of field is a lens with the largest aperture. Most lenses with F 1.4 are famous for very pretty bokeh! Also - the larger the matrix size used - the smaller the depth of field also becomes. But - not always a smaller depth of field - adds beauty to the bokeh ...

How to make bokeh - beautiful?

Photographers often like to discuss what beautiful or terrible bokeh this or that lens has. Even with the same aperture and focal length - the lens can "blur" the image - not at all the same!

Let's take for example a point source of light on the horizon "blurred" by us. For an "ideal" lens, this spot is a uniformly illuminated circle. But for a real lens with a diaphragm, the shape of the spot will follow the shape of the aperture hole. That is, if there are only 4 aperture blades in the lens - then, for example, the light of a distant lantern - which does not fall into the sharpness zone - will be blurred not in the form of a circle, but in the form of a square! Not very pretty! Therefore, modern lenses have the maximum possible number of aperture blades.

For example, in this photo you can see that the diaphragm had 8 petals, because. on it we observe - octahedrons ...

Photographer: © kevindooley.

However, this is not all the differences between bokeh shapes.

Even if the shape of the blurred point is close to a circle, this circle may not be illuminated evenly! It depends - on the optical scheme of the lens - on the talent of engineers who are in the eternal struggle with aberrations. For example - a circle can be brighter in the center - and transparent at the edges. Or vice versa - to be very bright at the edges - and transparent in the center - resembling a ring in its shape. Let's try to compare...

Poe Tatum

And here we see very soft bokeh... © gazzat

As you can see, the "rings" look much worse and "harder" than the "soft" spots.

Therefore, before buying a lens - if bokeh is important to you - be sure to look at the photos taken by this lens before you!

When, why and how - is bokeh used?

This effect is used to visually separate the subject from the background, as well as to give the background a certain neutrality - so that the viewer is not distracted by the contemplation of the background - but looks, for example, at the face of a person in a portrait. By the way - a photo-portrait - the most popular genre - in which bokeh is used almost without fail. Therefore, if you have selected the "portrait" mode on the camera, then the camera will probably open the aperture itself - to the maximum possible!

To use the indicated effect - it is desirable that the subject be at some distance from the background and completely enter the zone of clear focus. To select the necessary aperture values ​​and distances to the object and to the background - I recommend empirically.

Is it possible to make bokeh - in Photoshop?

Yes it is possible! For example, using the alen skin exposure plugin (formerly called "alen skin bokeh 2". But this is a topic for a separate publication, since creating bokeh in Photoshop is a rather laborious and not fast task.

Comments

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#34 A. Racter 29.07.2012 19:06

I quote Vyach:

A. Racter, why for cameras with a photopower of 3.5-5.6. do you advise to set bokeh to 5.6., although the article says about the need to set the minimum value?

Thanks for the question!
As I see it, I have written " 3.5 or 5.6", because, for example, at a focal length of 55 millimeter aperture " 3,5 "you can't set it on a cheap whale lens, for this focal length - the minimum aperture will just be" 5,6 ". But for the maximum manifestation of the bokeh effect, it is worth choosing just the maximum focal length. But if you shoot with a focal length of 18 mm., then set the "hole" in the value " 3,5 " without a doubt!

I'm sure you've seen these mesmerizing blurry light shots online and many of you have wondered how best to achieve the soft bokeh effect. If this is really about you, then you have come to the right place. In this tutorial, I will explain what bokeh is and how you can get it yourself.

1. Find out what it is

Increasingly in recent years, the term "bokeh" is used not in its original meaning. Today, the word is commonly used to refer to blurry lights and shapes in an image, when in fact it describes the aesthetic qualities of an out-of-focus area of ​​a photograph. Therefore, you can say that bokeh is “good” or “bad” (although this is very subjective), but, in essence, the term refers to everything that is in that area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe image that goes beyond the depth of field.

The beauty of bokeh comes when choosing the right aperture settings when shooting a shot results in a pleasing light pattern that forms soft patterns of circles of light, and this is the effect that we will try to achieve in this lesson.

2. Where to start

First you need to turn to the manipulation of some camera settings. To create "bokeh" you need a wide aperture and a short focal length. It's best to put the camera in aperture priority mode, which allows you to dictate the exposure of the image based on the selected aperture width, which should be large in order to let in a lot of light.

Depending on the capabilities of your camera and the lens you are using, choose a low f/number, anything from f/1.8 to f/4, even /f5.6 will do, but the lower the better. This aperture guarantees you a good shallow depth of field.

3. Depth of field

The next step is to check the depth of field to see if it matches the goal of achieving the blur effect. Make sure you leave enough space between you and the light source, and also that you have set the camera to manual focus. To increase the chance of creating good bokeh, position your subject as close to the lens as possible. If you're focusing on a subject extremely close to the camera, this will give you great blurring of the lights in the background.

4. Foreground and silhouettes

After you have mastered all the technical details, you can start using bokeh in your daily photographic work. Try to get bokeh in the background of an image that has an alternate focus point in the foreground, such as a person or still life subject.

Again, try to get as much distance as possible between your subject in the foreground and the lights in the background. Another thing that works quite well is placing the silhouette in front of your lights, similar to the object in the foreground. A crisp black shape will contrast well with the soft lighting in the background.

5. Now it's your turn

So now it's your turn, all you need is your DSLR and a set of small lights. Christmas lights (I know you just removed them) work great. Street lights in the distance will also give you the effect you want to achieve.

Find a time and place to practice getting the right settings on your camera, and when you feel ready, you can go and start applying the skills you've learned to your work. If you don't overdo it, bokeh can be used effectively to create a nice softness and depth in an image without drawing too much attention. It can really make your pictures look better!