What makes good bokeh

By increasing the depth of field, blurred elements in a background begin to obtain form and become identifiable. This can be distracting, but again, it is a question of degrees. That slightly soft focus in wide-angle macro photography allows background elements to be obvious but not intrusive, at the same time emphasizing foreground sharpness.

It is not just the circularity of the lens iris the diaphragm aperture that affects bokeh; lens aberrations have a role to play, too. The most important is spherical aberration, a defect that that arises when light rays from the edge of a lens and those from its center are not focused at the same point. It is also affected by internal reflections from lens surfaces -- especially common with older lenses created before the days of lens multicoating started to reduce them.

Spherical aberration determines whether the tiny image disks of the diffraction patterns are uniformly illuminated or not, and thus affects bokeh. Disk brightness can vary from edge to center depending on how effectively the spherical aberration is controlled. Discs can be brighter at center than edge and vice-versa , and there is also a difference in appearance of these discs behind -- and in front of -- the plane of focus. Catadioptric and other lenses that produce a special bokeh An unmistakable bokeh effect occurs with mirror telephoto lenses, also known as catadioptric lenses.

These lenses cause out-of-focus highlights to become "donuts. Some like this donut bokeh , and some do not. If you like the donut effect, then you should consider experimenting with a catadioptric lens. Some other lenses have been designed with the capacity for changing the way the out-of-focus areas appear by increasing the degree of spherical aberration, and there are add-ons to cameras within the LensBaby series, for example, that do the same.

In recent years, a particular vintage lens has become a great favorite with nature photographers intent on creativity, and eBay prices have rocketed as a result. The lens is a simple design, a Cooke Triplet that has three strong lens elements separated by comparatively large air spaces. The construction imparts some unique characteristics to out-of focus highlights, giving them an ethereal, soap-bubble look which creates a halo of sorts around light objects.

It is extremely effective, but very easy to over-use. In the artistic right hands of proponents such as Sandra Bartocha and Leonard Battista, it can be an amazing creative tool. If you like to experiment and have a cheap extension tube on hand -- you can easily find an inexpensive one on eBay -- then try an old lens from a slide projector. These lenses have just a few internal elements, all air-spaced, with no internal diaphragm, and can produce very interesting bokeh. Point it at a scene with distinct highlights and you may be surprised at the results!

Paul Harcourt Davies is a long-time professional photographer, and an author of 19 books with a background that fuses technical and artistic elements to his life-long passion for photography of the natural world. We reviewed his e-book that he co-wrote with frequent collaborator Clay Bolt : Wide-Angle Macro: The Essential Guide a few months ago, and we knew we wanted to share more of his insights and amazing images with our readers. You can order a copy of the book here. An experimenter and innovator by nature, he has long been on a mission through his writing and lectures to bring the techniques of macro photography to others.

For the last 10 years he has been based in Umbria, central Italy, renovating an old farmhouse with a wild garden from where he organizes tours, workshops and much else.

Be sure to read Understanding Bokeh , Part 2: The fine line between sharpness and blur. Understanding Bokeh: The art and science behind the beauty of blur part 1 blur bokeh how to macro paul harcourt davies photography lessons what is bokeh.

In this image of a Swallowtail butterfly hanging to let its wings dry after emergence, the background is a gentle blur. I'd call this good bokeh. Photo by Paul Harcourt Davies. Most lens manufacturers have a general prime lens and a pro or art lens. These lenses tend to be pricey, however, and for enthusiasts and beginners, basic prime lenses are often an affordable way to get that background bokeh. First, pay attention to your background as you shoot.

Look for small light sources. Shooting directly into an unobstructed sun will not create bokeh, but the sun filtering through or even reflecting off the leaves of trees will create bokeh.

Water droplets also tend to grab some of that light to create bokeh when out of focus. Man-made light sources can also be perfect bokeh material. A city skyline in the distance, traffic and street lights will all work as well. Bokeh can even be added to studio set ups using string lights or even by lighting up a crumpled piece of tinfoil. Anything that makes a small pin point of light, with the right lens, will work to make bokeh.

Remember, anything that effects depth of field will also play a role in creating that soft bokeh. Tip: Want to test your scene for bokeh? Simply turn the camera to manual focus and adjust until that background is completely out of focus.

These shots also make fun wallpapers. To get the most bokeh from the shot, use the widest aperture you have available. I consider this to have a good bokeh. Unfortunately to get this effect, a lot of things have to been in the right place. That being said your little sweet heart deserves her own photo space in my opinion. The two photos are not complementary, apples and oranges. Looks like the design on her shirt is sharper than her face. I think the eyes and nose are more important than the out of focus background so I stop down a bit to make sure they are in focus.

You are very fortunate to have such an attractive model to help you in your quest for the best photo. In the 60's people were gaga over the first mirror lens photos that reallly had a doughnut like out of focus area. DPR was not in existance so we all wanted a mirror lens to produce doughnut like bokeh. My personal worst is when out of focus tree branches look like bacteria on a microscope slide.

I have lots of shots like that. Pay careful attention to what is in the background if you know something will not be rendered to your satisfaction. Do the shot with a more favorable background. Nikon made the 2. I think you are doing good already and anyone that knows the child in the photo will want a picture. Hope this helps. I don't much care for either of your images. Note that there is no reason that you might not like them both! It is very subjective, and there is no real right or wrong.

And your question is really good, because it hits the nail on the head To me and maybe not to anyone else , both images had great potential in that the subject is wonderful cute, colorful, interesting, whatever , and while the general composition is run of the mill, the background in both is just too harsh and too distracting. The significant points are related to that, but need to be kept very distinct. First is that it is totally subjective, and producing what you want is the important goal, not whether I happen to like that or want to do the same thing.

Second, the harsh bokeh in those two images might be, in my view, "bad" Think in terms of how many awful mirror lens images there are The upshot is, if you like using that lens, figure out what kind of composition is made more interesting by the harsh bokeh.

Flowers and children are very unlikely to be amongst the subjects where that will work. Not to be too much of a digital newb I always wondered what the heck that meant.

Now I know Good info. I find bokeh to be very personal. Different people have different definition for good and bad bokeh. Coming to the images you posted, the second one has a good bokeh.

Bokeh doesn't necessarily mean "very smooth" or "very creamy". It should be something that silently compliments a foreground subject. It can be something artistic. Some people say that good boken is something that doesn't take your attention away from the subject. Well then what about images "perfect rounded blobs" bokehs? Those blobs take away a lot of attention. For eg:. So, bokeh doesn't always mean "something that doesn't take away the attention from subject".

But, this is a good bokeh for a lot of people, including me. For some a good bokeh is something very smooth. For example, the following image posted by one of our fellow photographer:. This is a great image. But, people like me don't like the over smoothness of the background. I would want something more identifiable in the background. That will compliment the image for me. That will make the shot more "complete" to me. But, bad bokeh can be easily pointed out. It is something that is too harsh on your eyes.

I find this shot to have a very bad bokeh:. So, there you see that good or bad bokeh does't have a specific definition. It is about personal preference. It should compliment the overall image. It should not be distracting but, for me, it should not be over smooth. Disclaimer: All the images used in the post belong to their respective owners.

They are all great photos. I don't intend to judge them. I just used them to show my perspective. Other's can and will have different view over these images. And that exactly is my point regarding bokeh. Different people like different bokehs.