depth of field "bokeh?"

How do you get those photos where the out of focus area through use of DOF are in little circles? Is it Bokeh?

Martin

I think those circles depends on the number of blades in your aperture. More blades = more circular = smoother bokeh.

Bokeh by itself means any area that is out of focus.

Ro1

Big Aperture (small Aperture number), generally f/5.6 or bigger. Bokeh is the out of focus blur rendition. Specular Highlights and light sources can cause the "circles" you mentioned.

-hza

By using a shallow depth of field, we can manage the blur of the background. Bokeh is more of a state of mind, and it is impossible to describe technically. It is more of combination of blur and color and feeling.

Just the other evening, I snapped a wildlife photo. The subject animal seemed to be staring off into space. The background was blurred with interesting colors, and lens effects didn't screw it up much.

Of course, in my case, the depth of field was not shallow because I managed it that way. It was shallow because the evening light was very dim, and the lens aperture was simply wide open and I had no choice.

---Bob Gross---

Depth of field is dependant on several things. Angle of view of the lens is important, the wider the lens the more depth of field it will have at a given aperature. Depth of field is also linked to subject distance. The closer an object is to the camera the less depth of field you will have at a given aperature. Obviously he distance from the primary subject to the backgroud effects how OOF the background will be.

The way to get pictures like portraits with a really sharp face and a pleasing OOF area behind them is simple. First get a moderate to long telephoto (135mm-300mm will work great). Second, use a large aperature f1.8-f5.6 will usually give you what you are looking for. (I am usually happy with f3.5-f4.) Third, make sure there is at least 10 feet between your primary subject and the background. (More or less distance can work depending on aperature and lens focal length, but 10 feet is a good starting point. I try for at least 20 feet.) Fourth, keep the distance between you and your subject to a minimum. The closer you are, the shallower the depth of field will be and the better the background bokeh will be.

Go to the park with a subject and experiment with the techniques listed above. Soon you'll be able to get the look you are going for.

If you are looking for a reccomendation for a low cost moderate telephoto portrait lens the canon EF 135mm f2.8 soft focus is amazing. I've had mine for years and it's my "go to" lens when I want a flattering portrait with a beautiful OOF background.

note: OOF=Out OF Focus

P.S.roanjohn is right, the more blades there are in an aperature the smoother the OOF area will be.

Hope this helps you.

There are many DOF calculators on the web for use as well as examples. Here is one of them and some extra credit reading for you on the physics of it all....

http://www.outsight.co​m/hyperfocal.html#dof

Happy reading...

Maybe I'm on the wrong track but my first thought when I read your post was the doughnut-shaped bokeh. That's typical for mirror lenses and considered to be "ugly". Here is an example (scanned slide) of a Sigma 600mm/f8 mirror telephoto lens on an EOS 10:

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Mmmm doughnuts! I love doughnuts. Especially Krispy Kremes!