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08/29/2007 09:07:07 AM · #1 |
I'm going to try using a light box and a variety of stuff and have a really good go at this challenge.
I have a rough idea of what bokeh is, and anyway that's another thread, so my question is as follows -
Apart from shooting with as wide an aperture as possible, is there any way of arranging camera, lights, reflectors, backgrounds etc that will help maximise bokeh ?
Are there any properties of background objects that will give good bokeh - I am thinking here of shape, reflectivity, colour. |
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08/29/2007 09:09:21 AM · #2 |
| a great approach is shallow DOF - macros often work great - using long lenses wide open can also give great blurred background/ foreground/ etc. |
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08/29/2007 09:15:17 AM · #3 |
Irregular lightfall or reflections do very nice in a blurred background.
Furthermore, close focus on your front subject narrows your DOF considerably.
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08/29/2007 05:37:41 PM · #4 |
| I'll give this one bump - how to make best poss bokeh in a lightbox ? |
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08/29/2007 06:05:40 PM · #5 |
notice the upper right corner - how the light plays with the geen foliage. that's bokeh.
oh in light box, hmm - with a 1.2 lens and a very deep lightbox. i'm not sure you going to have much luck in light box... unless you contrive some BG prop to simulate bokeh, and then use shallow DOF and lighting to enhance the bg...
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 18:08:32. |
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08/29/2007 06:27:52 PM · #6 |
No no no.
Bokeh isnt hexagonal out of focus points of light, or circles or whatever. You can't measure bokeh.
Bokeh is the feel of the out of focus parts of the image, the way it seperates the stuff in the foreground from the stuff in the background. although bokeh can be in the foreground as well.
Take this shot -
There are no circles of light, no hexagons made as a result of the aperature blades, the bokeh is here in the foreground AND background, its the way the OOF parts of the image are integrated into the image as a whole. If you want to maximise that creamy bokeh effect you need:-
a wide aperature
a long focal length, the longer the better. Remeber if you have your lens at 70mm @ f2.8 you will get what I think of as messy bokeh, however if you zoom in to 200mm, the bokeh is amplified and merges together.
here are some more examples - again, no circles or hexagons in sight!
  
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 18:28:58. |
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08/29/2007 07:00:51 PM · #7 |
| thought it was the Circles in the Background thats is what im getting from reading all the other stuff in here?? |
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08/29/2007 07:05:14 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Givemeashot:
thought it was the Circles in the Background thats is what im getting from reading all the other stuff in here?? |
Which is incorrect... |
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08/29/2007 07:06:08 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Givemeashot:
thought it was the Circles in the Background thats is what im getting from reading all the other stuff in here?? |
This is your shot and to me has perfect BoKeh...
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08/29/2007 07:09:27 PM · #10 |
Ever played twister? Ofcourse ya have. Well, ya know how the playing board has those colored dots all over it?
Yeah, use that for a background... some people here will swear you have good bokeh ;-)
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08/29/2007 07:35:06 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by thegrandwazoo:
Originally posted by Givemeashot:
thought it was the Circles in the Background thats is what im getting from reading all the other stuff in here?? |
This is your shot and to me has perfect BoKeh...
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agree with wazoo all the way on this one.. |
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08/29/2007 08:06:36 PM · #12 |
well i dont' want to argue about it. none of the examples posted used a light box - i don't believe. which is what the original question was about.
this one was entered in the original bokeh challenge, and was done in a partial light tent, or box. purple foil paper as the bg, with a diffuser to one side of camera, and a foam board reflector opposite. oh, and white board underneath the nails. as close i can get, and maybe it's bokeh ;}
look at the past entries and go from there.
and i didn't do any calculations, just looked at how the light reflected off the leaves and through the lens and onto my cf card. damn those psuedo hexagons of reflected light !
Originally posted by Simms:
No no no.
Bokeh isnt hexagonal out of focus points of light, or circles or whatever. You can't measure bokeh. |
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 20:22:03.
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08/29/2007 08:26:20 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by soup:
well i dont' want to argue about it. none of the examples posted used a light box - i don't believe. which is what the original question was about. |
I used a light box for this to get some decent bokeh. :D
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08/29/2007 08:36:37 PM · #14 |
What I was saying was a lot of people get the wrong idea in their head about bokeh and think their images need to have those little circles and hexagons dancing in the BG of their image, they dont, in fact the last Bokeh challenge, only 2 out of the top ten shots had the cirlces of light, the voter seemed to favour the creamy texture of bokeh rather than the chunky version.
Originally posted by soup:
well i dont' want to argue about it. none of the examples posted used a light box - i don't believe. which is what the original question was about.
this one was entered in the original bokeh challenge, and was done in a partial light tent, or box. purple foil paper as the bg, with a diffuser to one side of camera, and a foam board reflector opposite. oh, and white board underneath the nails. as close i can get, and maybe it's bokeh ;}
look at the past entries and go from there.
and i didn't do any calculations, just looked at how the light reflected off the leaves and through the lens and onto my cf card. damn those psuedo hexagons of reflected light !
Originally posted by Simms:
No no no.
Bokeh isnt hexagonal out of focus points of light, or circles or whatever. You can't measure bokeh. |
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Message edited by author 2007-08-29 20:37:01. |
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08/29/2007 08:52:04 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by Simms:
What I was saying was a lot of people get the wrong idea in their head about bokeh and think their images need to have those little circles and hexagons dancing in the BG of their image, they dont, in fact the last Bokeh challenge, only 2 out of the top ten shots had the cirlces of light, the voter seemed to favour the creamy texture of bokeh rather than the chunky version. |
Then you also have the combos...where the circles tend to fade from defined to blended.
6th place - 
7th place -  |
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08/29/2007 09:36:06 PM · #16 |
 a little macro w/bokeh |
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09/01/2007 11:10:00 AM · #17 |
| This is all incredibly helpful by the way. |
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09/01/2007 11:17:41 AM · #18 |
I think blurry circles are very pretty...
  
Message edited by author 2007-09-01 11:18:59.
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09/01/2007 11:58:09 AM · #19 |
My understanding of creating good bokeh, whether in-studio or in the field is to:
-focus as close to the subject as you can, with the background as far away from the lens as can be arranged
-use as long a focal length as you can to get the composition you want
-use as wide an aperture as you can depending on the dof you desire for your subject
-use a lens with more diaphragm blades (ie. a 7 or 9 bladed lens)
-a well lit background or backlit background
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09/01/2007 12:32:14 PM · #20 |
| I got a lens with 15 aparture blades, which makes the out-of-focus area very smooth and light circles will appear as circles. If you got 5 blades on your lens (canon 50mm 1.8 for example) the of of focus light will appear pentagonic, which is not that nice allways. |
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09/01/2007 12:43:42 PM · #21 |
Taken with the 50mm 1.8.
Not quite as pentatonic as you might think, but it was quite a busy background. It isn't the smoothest bokeh out there but it adds an interesting effect.
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09/01/2007 12:54:15 PM · #22 |
I can't help but wonder how the voting for this challenge is going to be affected by a voters' perception/understanding of what bokeh really is.
I agree 100% with  simms explanation. Way too much emphasis is being placed on the 'circle' aspect of the out of focus areas of the bokeh image. |
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09/01/2007 12:58:39 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by Simms:
What I was saying was a lot of people get the wrong idea in their head about bokeh and think their images need to have those little circles and hexagons dancing in the BG of their image, they dont, in fact the last Bokeh challenge, only 2 out of the top ten shots had the cirlces of light, the voter seemed to favour the creamy texture of bokeh rather than the chunky version. |
Oh. I get it now. Bokeh is like peanut butter.
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09/01/2007 01:02:09 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
Oh. I get it now. Bokeh is like peanut butter. |
LMAO!
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09/02/2007 09:09:38 PM · #25 |
Does anyone have a link to the last Bokeh challenge? Also how do you pronounce Bokeh?
I found it, it is challenge #593 but I dont know how to insert it.
Message edited by author 2007-09-02 21:15:12. |
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