What is background blur?
Background blur, or bokeh is the beautiful aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image, whether foreground or background or both. Although it's something I use rarely in landscape photography, I use it often in portrait photography, and macro photography too. You can see background blur in action in the background of the portrait photo below.
The blur is created in areas that are out of focus in the image because they are outside of the area of the image that is in focus. See this blog for a full explanation of depth of field (depth of focus).
In the rest of this article we will look at various techniques for creating, maximising and enhancing the amount and quality of this blur.
1. Use the wides aperture (smallest f-stop number)
The most effective way to create bokeh is by using a lens with a wide maximum aperture (a low f-stop number such as f/1.4 or f/2.8). A wider aperture reduces the depth of field, resulting in a beautifully blurred background (and foreground if visible in the image). If you lens has quite a high maximum aperture (as do many bridge cameras) then you may struggle to produce an effective bokeh, but you can try the other techniques in this blog to try and maximise it.
2. Increase the distance between your subject and the background
Position your subject as far from the background. The greater the distance between the subject and the background, the more pronounced the blur effect will be.
3. Use a telephoto lens
Using a lens with a longer focal length (such as 85mm, 135mm, or longer) can help compress the background and create a shallower depth of field, enhancing the bokeh effect. This is why, when taking portraits, I often use my 70-200mm telephoto lens. See more on lenses here.
4. Get closer to your subject
The closer you are to your subject (where you focus), the shallower the depth of field becomes. Focusing on the subject from a close distance will make the background more out-of-focus, thus increasing the bokeh effect. Note, however that all lenses have a minimum focus distance, and if you get closer than this your camera will no longer be able to achieve focus.
5. Use a full frame camera
Full-frame cameras generally produce better bokeh than crop sensors because they allow for a shallower depth of field at equivalent settings. It's one of the many benefits of moving to full frame.
6. Use a speciality lens
There are a number of specialist lenses available that have been designed specifically for the quality of their background blur. The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L or Nikon 105mm f/1.4, are known for their exceptional bokeh quality. Other specialty lenses, like the Petzval lens, are designed specifically to create unique and artistic bokeh effects. Lensbaby also offer creative lenses that produce distinct and sometimes dramatic bokeh effects.
7. Choose the right background
Select backgrounds with small light sources (like sunlight filtering through leaves, streetlights, or reflections) to create beautiful bokeh "balls" or patterns within the blurred background. A background with varied colors or high contrast can make your background blur appear more attractive.
Want to improve your photography skills?
Don't forget that if you want some direct help with your photography, I offer a range of 1-2-1 photography courses for Devon based folks. If you're not nearby then I also offer residential weekends for beginners or improving photographers.
About me
I first got into photography after walking the beautiful South West Coast Path: I was so disappointed that my photos didn't do justice to the beautiful coastal scenery that I decided to walk all 630 miles all over again, but this time to also teach myself photography along the way!
A few years later and I find myself as a professional photographer, widely published and with landscape photos which have won national awards. But I do much more than landscapes, providing photography training to businesses & individuals on how to take beautiful photographs, and providing professional photography services to businesses across the South West. My commercial specialisms are property photography, business photography, people photography & aerial (drone) photography.
I’m also an author with a number of published books and I give regular talks about my passion for photography, and for Devon, to camera clubs and other groups.
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