Is bokeh overrated?

[enzodm]

I think what is overrated is the use of term "bokeh" for indicating conscious DoF control (two different things). Only the former is now something subject to fashion and hype.

 

[o hey tyler]

"Bokeh" has only been around since 1997, its a fad.

#1 Dumbest Statement of 2011 so far.

 

[3bayjunkie]

actually Bokeh is not a "buzz word" it is an actual term that originated in Japan and is used to describe an images in-focus and out-of-focus components.

 

[Derrel]

Boke, Anglicized to bokeh in the 1990's by Michael Johnston in his articles that introduced the concept to the west, is a concept that the Japanese have used for decades. There are culturally significant differences between the way Asian people and Occidental people "see" photographs and paintings. We in the west tend to focus immediately on the foreground objects,and disregard the background objects in a painting or a photograph. THose born and reared in Asian cultures do NOT immediately focus on the foreground objects, but instead look at the background quite a lot, and use it to "place" the foreground objects into their context. This is fairly new information, unknown to most people outside the field of visual perception, which is my wife's doctoral field of study. So...is it any wonder that the Japanese language has a word for the blurry part of photographs? You know...the language of the country where the vast majority of the world's lenses have been made since the 1950's???? A country with a history of landscape painting that dates back thousands of years?

Bokeh is vastly misunderstood by the majority of casual photography enthusiasts. Bokeh refers to the quality of the out of focus areas of a photo, but many people today think it just means "shallow depth of field work". There are quite a few lenses that tend to produce good bokeh, and other lenses produce some harsh, or unusual bokeh effects. Not to sound elitist, but those who pooh-pooh the existence of bokeh are often those with the least training in the visual arts, or who are simply not well-educated in the finer points of photography. A lot of American commercial photographers, who shot everything for years in front of plain, seamless backdrops never saw any bokeh because all their work was of a flat-plain, evenly lighted piece of paper cyclorama...

 

[RauschPhotography]

Overrated? I don't think so, but it certainly can be overdone. I'm not the biggest fan of bokeh-themed photography, but small details can be very nice in the background.

For example:

I know it's not the greatest picture, but the bokeh in the background isn't overwhelming. Adds a nice background without taking away from the subject itself.

 

[mfrankpdx]

What I got from this thread now, is that bokeh isn't necessarily overrated, but rather it's become a popular term among newer photographers and more often than not, is misunderstood by them (myself included).

And, the technique of using a shallow DOF to bring attention to the subject is is one of the concepts beginner photographers grasp easily and early on. And of course, the term "bokeh" will come up often when discussing shallow DOF images.

So my learning experience didn't really have anything to do with bokeh. Rather it was more about framing a photo in a new way so I no longer needed a shallow DOF to bring my subject to the viewers attention.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Overread]

Oneday when I get good at this composition stuff I really want to work at doing some shots with powerful foreground and background components rather than just the foreground element dominating the scene

 

[ausemmao]

I don't think too many people want bokeh for its own sake, at least I'd hope not because blobs of light by themselves aren't all that interesting. But it does seem that the isolation aspect is pretty good - after all our eyes end up doing similar things when looking at objects at different distances, so it's an easy way to reintroduce a 3D aspect to 2D images.

As for the fast lenses, I know I got mine because it allowed me to use ambient light in far more situations indoors and out. 1-2 stops is half to a quarter of the exposure time - a pretty big deal I think

 

[benlonghair]

Bokeh isn't overrated at all. It just isn't the thing to do on every photo. I love to find a subject that works well with what ends up being (if you were a watercolorist) a color wash

This shot has fake bokeh (ie not out of the camera) and was really not a strong image until I blurred the background.


Female Eastern tiger swallowtail (Yellow form) by ben_long_hair, on Flickr

Here's another couple that would not have worked with a sharp (or even busy) background.


Praying Mantis: Connecticut's State Insect by ben_long_hair, on Flickr


DSC_0220honey bee by ben_long_hair, on Flickr

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Bokeh is overrated in two ways.

1/ Even though it is a fairly new idea around these parts fewer and fewer people know what it actually means.

2/ I've never heard of a photo getting famous or not because of the bokeh.


There are a number of responses in this thread showing #1 and there have been a few threads title "my bokeh photo..." showing the same thing. How does one take a photo of a quality? The last time I heard, bokeh is nothing more than the quality of the blur.

I had to look it up because until showing up on this forum I'd never even heard of the darn thing. After some 30 years in photography... :er:

Forget the darn bokeh and go shoot some interested images.

 

[MichiganFarts]

Bokeh is overrated in two ways.

1/ Even though it is a fairly new idea around these parts fewer and fewer people know what it actually means.

2/ I've never heard of a photo getting famous or not because of the bokeh.


There are a number of responses in this thread showing #1 and there have been a few threads title "my bokeh photo..." showing the same thing. How does one take a photo of a quality? The last time I heard, bokeh is nothing more than the quality of the blur.

I had to look it up because until showing up on this forum I'd never even heard of the darn thing. After some 30 years in photography... :er:

Forget the darn bokeh and go shoot some interested images.

I see it like this. Laughing has existed for a long time. Writing about laughter has existed for longer than I have been alive.

LOL, on the other hand, is a complete product of the internet, and popularized and used for EVERYTHING that's not even funny...

I'm not laughing out loud, sitting at my computer...

This is the age of exaggeration via internet...hence...bokeh! how's my bokeh? where do I get bokeh from? Is bokeh on sale this week?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Bokeh is overrated in two ways.

1/ Even though it is a fairly new idea around these parts fewer and fewer people know what it actually means.

2/ I've never heard of a photo getting famous or not because of the bokeh.


There are a number of responses in this thread showing #1 and there have been a few threads title "my bokeh photo..." showing the same thing. How does one take a photo of a quality? The last time I heard, bokeh is nothing more than the quality of the blur.

I had to look it up because until showing up on this forum I'd never even heard of the darn thing. After some 30 years in photography... :er:

Forget the darn bokeh and go shoot some interested images.

I see it like this. Laughing has existed for a long time. Writing about laughter has existed for longer than I have been alive.

LOL, on the other hand, is a complete product of the internet, and popularized and used for EVERYTHING that's not even funny...

I'm not laughing out loud, sitting at my computer...

This is the age of exaggeration via internet...hence...bokeh! how's my bokeh? where do I get bokeh from? Is bokeh on sale this week?

I don't get your point but I'm not surprised.

Bokeh is not an exaggeration. It is real. It just isn't a big deal with serious photogs. A good example of that is the bokeh from a lens I just sold. A Minolta 250mm mirror lens. Mirror lenses can and will give a doughnut shaped bokeh if not used correctly. However this lens sold for $675 even though it is about 20 years old.

I wonder why...

 

[PASM]

Maybe he means its become a kudos type term to bandy-about without any discrimination in terms of quality. You see it on flickr... "love the bokeh"..when it looks horrible. A cheapo lens used fully open..bright edges..bright centres..double lines, nauseous swirl - yuk


LOL btw

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Maybe he means its become a kudos type term to bandy-about without any discrimination in terms of quality. You see it on flickr... "love the bokeh"..

I agree but it doesn't mean I have to accept it. it is nothing more than BS is what I'm saying.

Let's worry about shooting interesting photos instead of "bokeh."

 

[MichiganFarts]

I don't get your point but I'm not surprised.

Bokeh is not an exaggeration. It is real. It just isn't a big deal with serious photogs. A good example of that is the bokeh from a lens I just sold. A Minolta 250mm mirror lens. Mirror lenses can and will give a doughnut shaped bokeh if not used correctly. However this lens sold for $675 even though it is about 20 years old.

I wonder why...

Let me help you. In order to come to the conclusion that I was saying bokeh in itself was an exaggeration...you would have to think that I was saying laughing in itself is an exaggeration, which I did not.

I said the use of the term LOL was an exaggeration...therefore I would be referring to the use of the term bokeh...and not to it's existence.

These things are called analogies.

a·nal·o·gy

   /əˈnæl

ə

dʒi/ Show Spelled[uh-nal-uh-jee] Show IPA
–noun, plural -gies. 1. a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump.


The similarity being, both are terms that have caught on popularity via the internet. I hope this has helped, but I'm not surprised if you say it didn't, just to sound like a smartass. Which is also overused on the internet. In fact the irony is, I'm am doing the same right now.