

Aperture settings affect the depth of field. You need a large aperture, such as f/1.4, f/1.8 or f/2. Start by setting up your camera to optimize bokeh. At least for now, a wide aperture lens will yield better bokeh results than any smartphone. While these bokeh effects can look lovely, they sometimes require a bit of touch up to look convincingly real. If you’re using a smartphone, you can only mimic bokeh through a special app or in-camera effect. An ideal setup would include a DSLR or mirrorless camera with an interchangeable lens that features a large maximum aperture (f/1.4-f/2). To create bokeh, you’ll need a camera (or lens) that allows you to adjust aperture and focal length. However, if you’re focusing on a single subject, like a cup or a candle, bokeh can prove a good choice. Not every subject lends itself well to bokeh. For instance, if you’re photographing a broad scene or landscape, a shallow depth of field won’t work. But as with any technique, using bokeh does not guarantee your photos will be amazing.


Photographers typically use bokeh to create a number of striking light effects, or they simply highlight a subject and keep the rest of the image out of focus.Īt first, you may be tempted to use bokeh for everything. You can create this blurring by using a shallow depth of field. The bokeh effect - from the Japanese ‘boke’, meaning ‘blur’ or ‘haze’ - is the blurring of a photo, or more precisely, the aesthetic quality of the blurring. Bokeh easily ranks among the most popular photography effects, perhaps because it’s powerful yet easy to do.
