When you hear Photographers talking about Bokeh one could be mistaken to think that they are refering to some quality of a wine. The term bokeh comes from the Japanese word Boke which means haze or blur. This word is usually used to describe the aesthic qualities of the out of focus areas of photos. There is also passing reference made in the quality of a lens when tested. In most cases bokeh occurs when using a shallow depth of field with a lens that has an aperture opening of say f1.8 or if you are lucky and own a lens of f1.2 which has a wider aperture again.
My thanks to a Magazine ct Digital Photography which has a very good article on Bokeh and some of the material especially the illustrations are drawn from this magazine. I suggest if you want to learn more you read this magazine as it has the most comprehenshive coverage I have ever read.
Basically Bokeh is produced by the circles of confussion - confussed? well perhaps this graphic will help
From c't Digitial Photography 2 2011 page18 |
So the circles of confussion are basically the shape you see in bokeh from the aperture blades and some manufacturers of lenses will delibrately round the blades to get a more pleasing effect.
from c't Digitial Photpgraphy 2 2011 page 18 |
Now as those of you who read my post regularly know I have won a Bokeh Masters kit which basically is a set of discs with various shapes cut in them that can influence the shape of the Bokeh patterns in your image.
From c't Digitial Photography 2 2011 page 19 |
When you read this full article in the magazine you will find that people buy certain lenses for the Bokeh. In fact I was unaware there was so much to it. I can't wait to experiment with my Bokeh Masters Kit when it arrives.