#Camera bokeh how to#
#Camera bokeh full#

This helps in creating a more intimate picture and also adds to the bokeh effect.Ī 35mm f/1.4 lens produces wonderful bokeh. Photo by: 'Kevin Landwer-Johan'. It’s a wonderful lens for making portraits as it allows me to get reasonably close to my subjects. I use it a lot because it is a little wider than normal, yet still produces a pleasing bokeh when I use a wide aperture.

My favourite lens for bokeh is a 35mm f/1.4. You can buy a 24mm f/1.4 or a 200mm f/2, but you’ll need deep pockets. Standard lenses like the 50mm are easier and cheaper to produce with wide apertures. It was concocted by a designer and engineer poking fun at photographers lusting over fast lenses. However, it was not designed for real use and never functional. Zeis even once made a 40mm lens with an aperture of f/0.33. Some lens companies make 50mm lenses with even wider apertures, as wide as f/0.95.

Most lens manufacturers make these with a widest aperture of f/1.4 and f/1.8. The most common and affordable fast or ‘bokeh lens’ is a 50mm. These are known as ‘fast’ lenses because the wide aperture allows for the use of faster shutter speeds. This is because they usually have a wider maximum aperture than zoom lenses. Lenses with a fixed focal length – that is, lenses which don’t zoom (also known as prime lenses) – are generally better for creating soft bokeh.

See also: Understanding Metadata | EXIF for Landscape Photography.

Use a long lens with a wide aperture for lovely bokeh. Photo by: 'Kevin Landwer-Johan'. The larger the sensor in your camera is, the softer the bokeh effect will appear in your composition. Place your subject a long way from the background and focus as close to it as your lens is capable of. So the way to create the softest looking background possible is to use a long lens with a wide aperture. When you use a lens with a largest aperture opening of f/1.8 or f/1.4, it is much more likely that you will achieve bokeh. This is because the widest aperture they have is often only around f/4 when they are set to the widest zoom. Many kit lenses that come with a camera upon purchase are not so suitable. Most influential of all is the widest aperture setting on the lens you are using. A telephoto lens will help you create a background with a soft bokeh. With a wide angle lens, it’s more challenging to get a blurred background. This will also be relative to the focal length of the lens you are using. The closer you are to your main subject and the further it is from the background, the softer the bokeh will appear. The relationship between the elements in your composition and the background have a big impact on bokeh.

#Camera bokeh full#

Using a full frame or larger format camera will allow you to more easily capture images with a blurred background. This is why it’s more difficult to make bokeh photos with smartphones and compact cameras. Basically, the larger the sensor size, the less complicated it is to make photographs with lovely bokeh. The physical dimensions (not the megapixel count) of your sensor has a strong influence on the bokeh.

The lens you choose to use is only one of them. There are a number of contributing factors to creating beautiful bokeh. They are not, however, essential to use if you want to get this look. Lenses with a certain characteristic make it easier to create images where the background is blurred. It’s partly a misconception that you need a bokeh lens to formulate this look.

#Camera bokeh how to#

See also: How to Minimise and Clean Camera Sensor Dust.The bokeh technique is easier to create with some cameras and lenses than others.