How is Bokeh best achieved?

[Matrixgravity]

Bokeh like this! http://i.imgur.com/gFnke.jpg

What is the proper way to shoot stylistic images like this with Bokeh in the foreground?

 

[dots]

By the looks of things..with a Ricoh

 

[MLeeK]

I only see one there that shows any bokeh in the foreground, but regardless...
Bokeh is best achieved by using a very wide aperture f/1.8 or even faster. The closer you are to your subject the more bokeh you will get or the shallower your depth of field will be.
To get shape to your bokeh you will need dappled or variegated light in your background or foreground. The sshape comes from the apeture blades. There are also plenty of tutorials on the net for shaped bokeh using a piece of paper cut into a shape either behind your lens or in front of it.

 

[Matrixgravity]

I only see one there that shows any bokeh in the foreground, but regardless...
Bokeh is best achieved by using a very wide aperture f/1.8 or even faster. The closer you are to your subject the more bokeh you will get or the shallower your depth of field will be.
To get shape to your bokeh you will need dappled or variegated light in your background or foreground. The sshape comes from the apeture blades. There are also plenty of tutorials on the net for shaped bokeh using a piece of paper cut into a shape either behind your lens or in front of it.

Does there have to be a subject in front of you in order for the Bokeh to pop up in the background? I don't understand..

 

[dots]

1.4/55? Rikenon/Tomioka etc

www.tomioka.de E-Main

7 fast 55mm and 50mm quick OOF rendering comparison

 

[Matrixgravity]

Does there have to be a subject in front of you in order for the Bokeh to pop up in the background? Can somebody confirm?​

 

[MLeeK]

No, Your focus point would have to be on something in front of you. For example the one that is just bokeh-the focus point is probably set manually and only a few feet in front of the camera.

You are the one with the NX camera, right? it may be much harder to get bokeh with your camera. The smaller sensors actually make focus much easier to achieve and increase the depth of field. Don't give up trying. You will need your subject CLOSE or your focus point CLOSE and your background light very distant-not like the ring, but definitely like the trees.

 

[Matrixgravity]

No, Your focus point would have to be on something in front of you. For example the one that is just bokeh-the focus point is probably set manually and only a few feet in front of the camera.

You are the one with the NX camera, right? it may be much harder to get bokeh with your camera. The smaller sensors actually make focus much easier to achieve and increase the depth of field. Don't give up trying. You will need your subject CLOSE or your focus point CLOSE and your background light very distant-not like the ring, but definitely like the trees.

Ahh thank you so much for clarifying.. Here is a Bokeh picture I took yesterday with my camera.

http://tinyurl.com/Bokeh19

I think it looks pretty good to be honest. I am mainly trying to take Bokeh photography as of now. Still learning but I believe I am really understanding Photography more and more. I spent 8 hours watching Photography video's today and It definitely has provided me with many answers.!

 

[MLeeK]

No, Your focus point would have to be on something in front of you. For example the one that is just bokeh-the focus point is probably set manually and only a few feet in front of the camera.

You are the one with the NX camera, right? it may be much harder to get bokeh with your camera. The smaller sensors actually make focus much easier to achieve and increase the depth of field. Don't give up trying. You will need your subject CLOSE or your focus point CLOSE and your background light very distant-not like the ring, but definitely like the trees.

Ahh thank you so much for clarifying.. Here is a Bokeh picture I took yesterday with my camera.

http://tinyurl.com/Bokeh19

I think it looks pretty good to be honest. I am mainly trying to take Bokeh photography as of now. Still learning but I believe I am really understanding Photography more and more. I spent 8 hours watching Photography video's today and It definitely has provided me with many answers.!

PERFECT!!! Now set that exact same shot up and set your camera at f/32 or f/22, ISO 100 and a shutter of about 7 seconds. You'll get the effect you are looking at in that other post!

 

[Matrixgravity]

No, Your focus point would have to be on something in front of you. For example the one that is just bokeh-the focus point is probably set manually and only a few feet in front of the camera.

You are the one with the NX camera, right? it may be much harder to get bokeh with your camera. The smaller sensors actually make focus much easier to achieve and increase the depth of field. Don't give up trying. You will need your subject CLOSE or your focus point CLOSE and your background light very distant-not like the ring, but definitely like the trees.

Ahh thank you so much for clarifying.. Here is a Bokeh picture I took yesterday with my camera.

http://tinyurl.com/Bokeh19

I think it looks pretty good to be honest. I am mainly trying to take Bokeh photography as of now. Still learning but I believe I am really understanding Photography more and more. I spent 8 hours watching Photography video's today and It definitely has provided me with many answers.!

PERFECT!!! Now set that exact same shot up and set your camera at f/32 or f/22, ISO 100 and a shutter of about 7 seconds. You'll get the effect you are looking at in that other post!

Thank you !! . And which other post? are you referring too? Are you saying I should shoot the same glass jar but with 22 aperture/7 second shutter speed? Sorry for the confusion

 

[Redeyejedi]

and then have fun with shaping your out of focus stuff too!
Shaped Bokeh!

 

[KmH]

How is Bokeh best achieved?

By carefully choosing what lens you use.

Don't confuse depth-of-field (DoF) and circle of confusion (CoC, or bokeh). They are not the same thing and are not interchangable terms. Circle of confusion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Depth of field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The English spelling bokeh was popularized in 1997 in Photo Techniques magazine, when Mike Johnston, the editor at the time, commissioned three papers on the topic for the March/April 1997 issue; he altered the spelling to suggest the correct pronunciation to English speakers, saying "it is properly pronounced with bo as in bone and ke as in Kenneth, with equal stress on either syllable".

The original Japanese word is 'boke' which refers to the aesthetic quality of the blur in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.

CoC (bokeh) is not adjustable, DoF is. There are 2 kinds of bokeh effect - Cream Cheese and Hollywood. The shaped bokeh linked to above is a type of Hollywood bokeh. Note that the shaped bokeh effect is a function of the shape of an aperture made by the photographer.

CoC has a lot to do with the internal structure of a lens, particularly the number, shape, and edge finish of the lens aperture blades.
Some inexpensive lenses, like Canon's 50 mm f/1.8 II have decent optics but few lens aperture blades that are straight and have sharp blade edges. consequently the bokeh, or visual quality of the out-of-focus portions of a photo have a harsh, angular, jittery, and somewaht distracting visual quality.
For many the worst looking bokeh is the donut looking OOF elements produced by catadioptric mirror lenses, particiularly the el cheapo mirror lenses.

To see good examples of 'cream cheese' bokeh, look for images made with Nikon's, AF 85 mm f/1.4D lens. That lens has been nicknamed the "Cream Machine".

 

[Redeyejedi]

thanks for that Keith!!