The Beauty of Bokeh

When I see bokeh I get that lovely cozy feeling inside, like I'm cuddled up with a good book and a hot drink on a rainy afternoon. Since it was first introduced to me by my partner, I have always thought it was beautiful.

The blurred, simplistic nature of the bokeh technique works wonders at drawing attention to the photograph's subject, all the while creating imagery that is ethereal, dreamlike and otherworldly all at once. Light can be played with to form cute shapes that encircle a loved one or to tell the viewer a little something about the subject in the photograph. My favourite subject in particular has been cats (I warn you, I am something of a cat person). With bokeh I can turn their chubby feline faces into heartfelt portraits, beautifully framed by fish-shaped lights or glittering stars.

The photographs I have taken have gone on to be shared on social media with friends and family, but most importantly to me I have life-long keepsakes of the treasured animals in my care. When I see their photograph I am reminded of them, long after they have gone.

So what is Bokeh exactly? I hear you ask.

As with many of my favourite trends, the craze of Bokeh is believed to hail from Japanese amateur photographers and their love of simplicity. The word Bokeh itself comes from the Japanese bokehaji ボケ味, it's meaning translated into English as "blur quality". The technique has been played with for decades but it wasn't until 1997 when a magazine known as Photo Techniques used the word “bokeh” for the first time to describe the out-of-focus areas in photographs.

Since then, photographers everywhere have experimented with the bokeh technique, using a large aperture lens and simple fairy lights to capture the bokeh shape that they desire, be it simple orbs or love hearts. With the romantic, warm atmosphere created by the trick, the possibilities of what you can portray in a bokeh photograph is endless. I have even seen some thoroughly stunning engagement snaps with glowing bokeh lights all around the couple and their engagement ring. Hell I was jealous!

Fast forward to the world of today and few photographers dabble solely in traditional photography alone. The internet is brimming with cheap photography software, free image editing programs and camera apps for smartphones that have the ability to produce an instant, computerized bokeh effect. The photographer now is in full control of the style, shape and colour as they can simply apply it to their selfies and holiday snaps.

This of course is a fantastic idea and I wholeheartedly encourage anyone to reach out and play with these photography apps that are so readily available. However, bokeh is so simple it would be a crime for any budding photographer not to experiment with one of the easiest tricks in the learner book.

To begin, you will need the following:

• An SLR Camera
• A large aperture lens
• Black card
• Scissors
• Pen
• Fairy Lights

To create bokeh, we will start by designing bokeh shapes to be placed around the camera lens. Using black card and a pen, trace a circle around the outside of the lens. Draw on some tabs coming out of your circle before cutting it out (see photo above).

In the middle of your circle, draw the shape you wish to use in your bokeh. You can draw circles, love hearts, literally anything (so long as you're willing and able to cut these out).

Try not to go too big or too small, which I must warn can sometimes be a battle of trial and error. If your shape is too small, not enough light will be let in to form photographs with enough exposure. On the other hand, if your shape is too large, there will be little to no bokeh effect to be seen. I tend to keep my shapes within the 5mm and 20mm bracket for good measure.

Put your cut-out circle over the front of your lens and fold the tabs back. It's extremely useful to have an elastic band to hold them down for this part.

Set your camera to Aperture Priority or Manual mode and set the f-stop to be as wide as possible.

Remember that only unfocused points of light in the photograph will be affected by the filter. If you're looking for bold bokeh, set your camera to manual focus and have a go at night photography or darker environments. You'll likely see the most dramatic effect at the closest focus distance (when you’re close to the subject and the background is far away).

Recognize the love heart bokeh from above?

What the viewer can't see is the bag of tasty cat treats dangled above the camera, but on a more serious note, hopefully what you can see is just how the fairy lights are literally transformed by the bokeh shape over the camera lens. Depending on how you angle the fairy lights in the background will affect where they sit in your photo. I prefer to have them frame or shelter the subject of my photographs, as you see here in this portrait of Ash.

This last example always makes me smile when I see it.

As you might have guessed, my cat Polly isn't always a fan of the camera but like most greedy cats she is a fan of fish. With a simple fish shaped bokeh cutout on my lens and the use of my trusty fairy lights hanging downward on the wall, I was able to create the bokeh effect to represent her absolute favourite food.

Getting her to pose however, was a whole new challenge altogether.

Top Tips for Bokeh Newcomers

Hopefully you will agree, bokeh is easy and creates beautiful photographs without the immediate need for editing software. I appreciate that not everyone is a tremendous fan of cats as I am but I hope you have been inspired by what you have seen. If you haven't already, I invite you to try out this easy photography trick on your own pets or friends and family but first, here are some of my top tips to get the most out of Bokeh.

• When photographing animals such as cats or dogs, it's a good idea to have some pet treats on hand (and a human assistant). Using your human assistant to shake, dangle or wave the bag of treats above and behind the camera, be ready to get the shot you're looking for. This will make it super easy to get a great snap of your pet's face looking right at the camera.

• Fairy lights are pretty cheap on eBay and Amazon, so if you're up to it you could even invest in a range of colours to get a colourful vibe in your Bokeh shots.

• Fast aperture is best (at least f/2.8) and if you can, use fast prime lenses and shoot with lenses wide open.

• Don't be afraid to increase the distance between subject and background. The further your subject is away from your background, the stronger the blur effect will be.

• If you're really invested in this bokeh thing, get yourself a good backlight. This will make your bokeh shapes 'pop' and will create lovely wet glimmers in the eyes of your subject (looks great on cats and dogs!).