Bokeh

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Steve_o

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I really enjoy snapping photographs with bokeh in them. This was really fun around Christmas with my 50mm. However, these were taken where the whole photo comprised of bokeh.

I've never been able to take a photo of a subject in focus and the remainder being examples of Bokeh. Like the image below :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rgptrucking/6308613120/

I've always ended up making the whole shot out of focus. Or focusing on the subject, but then the remainder not being out of focus enough to create bokeh.

Does anyone know what I am doing wrong?
 
You probably need to use a long focal length together with a wide aperture and it'll help if you can reduce the camera to subject distance and increase the subject to background distance.
 
there doesn't appear to be any pics in the link unless it's just me
 
The link still doesn't work for me ...don't worry i think it my be this laptop as it has a java issue atm.
Back to the original topic.....I think Alan has probably covered the primary reasons why you may be struggling.
I do find bokeh easier to get with longer focal lengths ...not that it's something i purposely search for regularly but I'm sure it's perfectly feasable at 50mm
 
I've managed to get some decent Bokeh with the 50mm f1.8.

Ideally you need to be nice and close to the subject which is a decent distance from the background.

The AF on the f1.8 isn't fantastic and if you're shooting at f1.8, even moving the camera a fraction when pressing the shutter could result in missing the point of focus.
 
Controlling depth of field is a result of subject distance, aperture, focal length.

Quality of Bokeh is down to the build of the lens.

So you need appropriate gear and conditions. what lenses do you have? we can go from there.
 
Phil V said:
Controlling depth of field is a result of subject distance, aperture, focal length.

Quality of Bokeh is down to the build of the lens.

So you need appropriate gear and conditions. what lenses do you have? we can go from there.
Click to expand...

Specifically for Bokeh shots I use a Canon 50mm and I can achieve the same effect using my Canon 100mm Macro. But the 50mm is better.

My body is a Canon 1000D
 
Steve_o said:
Specifically for Bokeh shots I use a Canon 50mm and I can achieve the same effect using my Canon 100mm Macro. But the 50mm is better.

My body is a Canon 1000D
Click to expand...

So can you show us an example of what you're getting?
 
Phil V said:
So can you show us an example of what you're getting?
Click to expand...

O.K, the image below is my best example. This was taken around christmas. The effect I was going for was the butterflies (from xmas lights) and my fingers remaining in focus. However, everything is out of focus.

384878_10150409653077204_603856971_n.jpg
 
I'm not sure whether your fingers are out of focus, due to subject movement.
 
I'd agree with Phil and say that your fingers look to be blurry due to subject and/or camera movement.

And as has already been said bokeh is a factor between focal length, aperture and subject distance both from your camera and the background/what you want to be blurry.
 
If I wasn't at work I'd have checked exif on flickr(NHS is blocking flickr). your fingers are not sharp due to slow shutter speed and possibly lens front/back focusing. I had terrible front focus on my 50mm but fix it with microadjustment. unfortunately you cannot adjust it.
 
Sonriendo said:
ATEOTD it all depends on how you define bokeh.
Click to expand...

Yep

One of those annoying little variables when it comes to defining.

OP - I'm guessing when you talk about 'bokeh' you're actualy talking about wanting out of focus backgrounds (aperture blade effect) behind a sharp in focus subject ?

So many variables but play with camera to subject / subject to background ratios once you've found the focal length and aperture that suit. If shutter speed isn't an issue (any old subject) then life is a bit easier.
 
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sthwild said:
If I wasn't at work I'd have checked exif on flickr(NHS is blocking flickr). your fingers are not sharp due to slow shutter speed and possibly lens front/back focusing. I had terrible front focus on my 50mm but fix it with microadjustment. unfortunately you cannot adjust it.
Click to expand...

There's the problem - image is hosted by photobucket (not in itself a problem for me) but in this instance, all exif is witheld.

I'd say that there is definite movement in the hand causing blur - which suggests motion blur due to a slow shutter speed. The relative clarity of the (out of focus) stationary butterfly lights, imho, supports this. Can't say without knowing the lens or the aperture and shutter speed, but if you could have opened the aperture more and shortened the shutter speed, then you would stand a better chance of freezing the hand movement and blurring the background.

Edit: getting the hand closer to the lens in relation to the background helps too - i.e. get the camera as close as possible to the hand and the hand as far away as possible from the fairy butterfly lights.
 
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Steve_o said:
They were a cut-out. So I had a template over the lens with the desired shape.
Click to expand...

Then I think that may have affected your foreground too.

When you put a mask between your lens and subject, you can't expect it to only affect the background. Although I've never used a mask, so I'm not really an expert and I might be wrong.

But I think you should perfect a technique before you complicate it, so that you can pinpoint what went wrong.
 
Hi made my own 'masks' with black card and a scalpel! Those first pics on Flickr are done like that. 'Real' bokeh is an effect that the lens blades produces, the quality determined mostly by the quality of the lens. Go outside, find a nice background, place your subject close (relatively) to you and the background far away and then choose a wide-ish aperture.
 
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