Friday, November 4, 2011

Bokeh Filters

Bokeh is where you use a shallow depth of field to create a blur that has a pleasing affect on your pictures. This effect is not necessarily limited to highlights and points of light, however that is where it is most easily recognized. A Bokeh filter is used when you want to take indirect points of light and turn them into shapes or designs.
You can purchase Bokeh filters ( http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/bokeh-Kit/) however, they are very simple to make and the homemade ones work just as well.

To make a homemade Bokeh filter:

1. Gather all your supplies:
You will need, a lens of your choosing, the lens here is a Tamron 28mm to 80mm, a piece of dark construction paper(preferably black, but if you are like me and did not have black, any dark color will do), scissors, a surface to cut on(cutting board, piece of cardboard etc.), and a utility or  an exacto knife.

2. Now you want to put you lens face down onto the piece of paper and trace.

3. After you have traced the lens 3 or 4 times(depending on how many shapes you would like to make). Draw a small shape in the middle of the circle. Try making different shapes of different sizes so you can find what will work best for your lens. For what I was using it seemed the smaller shapes I made worked better.

4. Once you have all your shapes, use your knife to cut the shape out of the paper.

5. Now take your scissors and cut the circle out of the paper and cut down until it fits inside your lens.

The cover should just fit right onto your lens.

However, if you accidentally cut your circle too small, cut one strip of paper, place that around the edge where are additional light may come through, and use some delicate tape to tape in place. 

Now find a dark place with some indirect light point and shoot. This technique works the best at night however it can be done during the day as well.
Also depending on the circumstance it may be wise to have a tri-pod with you as you try this, so you can play around with the shutter speeds as much as possible.

Out come:
These were just taken of  the traffic lights next to my house.













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