Focal Length 50mm
Shutter Speed 1 sec
Aperture f/1.8
ISO/Film 200
I’m sure you have tons of questions right now. Like what is bokeh? Are those headphones? How did you do that? How did you become such an awesome photographer?? All these questions and more will be answered. Just sit tight.
So what is bokeh? Well bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke, which means “blur” or “haze.” In photography terms, the “blur” or “haze” is the way the lens renders out-of-focus light. You may have noticed some circles, or hexagons, in some images that are close-up, like this one for example:
Those circles would be referred to as bokeh. There are many ways to manipulate the background, and make the bokeh more or less noticeable. I am a huge fan of bokeh, and try to use it when it enhances the photo. For example, with this ornament picture above, it could easily just be an ornament with a blurry background, but the circular bokeh lighting, gives it that holiday flair.
So how did I make circular bokeh into headphones? A Bokeh Masters Kit of course! I bought a kit for $25 which comes with different shaped filters that you put over your lens, from stars, to smiley faces, to headphones, horses and everything in between. The headphone filter is my absolute favorite. Night photography works the best for bokeh, so Stephanie and I ventured out to Santa Monica Pier where the beach is dark, and the pier is full of lights. To get the bokeh effect, you have to completely make your image out of focus, and it requires a lot of patience and trial and error. After a couple of tries I was able to make the Santa Monica Ferris Wheel go from this:
Focal Length 18mm
Shutter Speed 30 sec
Aperture f/14
ISO/Film 200
To these:
My absolute favorite bokeh picture did not come from the Ferris Wheel, but came from the Roller Coaster. I kept a slow, but not too slow, shutter speed, and I opened my aperture as much as I could to get the dynamic colors of the moving roller coaster.
Focal Length 50mm
Shutter Speed 1/2 sec
Aperture f/1.8
ISO/Film 200
Bokeh is an awesome experiment and you can never get bad results. If you are thinking of trying the bokeh technique out I would highly suggest buying the Bokeh Masters Kit. Over 20 different bokeh filters, for only $25! Share your results with me!
