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Submitted: February 23, 2009
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Shaped Bokeh How-Toby ~YellowEleven

Resources & Stock Images / Tutorials / Photography

_{I think this is a fun technique! I've had several people ask me how it's done so I figured I'd post this!

Here are two photographs I've done where I used this technique:

Please let me know if any of you have any issues with the tutorial image because it's so huge.

- Sarah}

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EDIT: I've received several questions since I posted this tutorial. Typically, if one person has a question, others are wondering the same thing, so I'll share the questions here and will answer to the best of my ability.

First, I’ll go into a little more detail about the bokeh technique:

The dictionary definition of "bokeh" is: a Japanese term for the subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of a photographic image. These “out-of-focus” areas, when you're attempting to capture a shape, are most easily captured by photographing light sources. In my tutorial, and in the example photos I posted above, I used Christmas lights.

You can experiment with creating bokehs (without even bothering with making it a shape) by simply playing around with your camera lens. My telephoto lens works best for me, and I hear wide-angles lenses work well also. Find a single point of light, perhaps a traffic light, and simply focus and unfocus your lens while watching the shape change in the camera’s viewfinder. The light will blur into a circular bokeh, not because the light is circular, but because the opening of your lens is circular. If you create one of the shaped lens hoods that I describe in the tutorial, then the traffic light will morph into the shape you carved into your lens hood instead of a circle.

This effect isn’t limited to very sharp light sources, but can also be used on more subtle light sources (though this can get trickier). Bokeh shapes can be obtained from dark and light leaves in a tree, raindrops on a window, dew drops lit by the sun in grass – on and on the possibilities go. You just have to continue practicing!

Here are a few more examples from my own photography:

The bokeh shapes in this photo are from the sunlit tree leaves:

These bokeh shapes were from the gaps between the leaves where the light from the sky came through:

In this photo, the bokeh shapes were from tiny beads of fertilizer that were scattered on the dirt behind the flower:

And finally, these small bokehs were from dew drops on the grass:

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_{Q: If I cut one shape on my paper, will more than one bokeh will show up like in your pictures, or to achieve multiple bokeh do I have to cut more than one shape on my paper?
A: The multiple shapes come from multiple Christmas lights. So if I was taking a photo of just one light, it'd be one heart (or whatever shape you chose to carve into your lens hood) but if I was taking a picture of a string of Christmas lights, then each individual light would change to match the shape of your lens hood. All you’re doing is manipulating the shape of the lens opening, in turn manipulating the shape of the light that is received into that lens. Remember that the photo of the light has to be out of focus to create the shape.

Q: Does this technique work with point-and-shoot cameras too?
A: Unfortunately I don't think it works with point and shoot cameras, although I've never tried it. It really needs to be a large aperture lens.

Q: If I wanted to take a photo with the bokeh behind something, would I have to do anything different, or is it simply not possible with this technique? Because it seems to me like the border would limit the size of the image.
A: The border has no effect on the size of the image when using a zoom/telephoto lens, it only limits the amount of light that's let into the lens (so you might have to alter the settings on your camera to make sure the photo isn't too dark).

Also, it most definitely is possible to get the bokeh shapes behind or even in front of a solid object! You can do this by physically placing your light source behind or in front of them. Remember, the light source will need to be blurred, so if you want your subject to be in focus, then the subject needs to be at a different distance from the light. For example, you could place Christmas light 10 ft behind a person, focus on the person, and the Christmas lights will be blurred in the background, giving you the bokeh shapes. OR, you could put the Christmas lights right in front of the camera, focus on the subject who is a distance away, and the lights will blur into a filter-like effect.

Examples of bokeh…

behind a subject:
[link] by =ClaireCollyer
[link] by ~chromerobot

in front of a subject:
[link] by ~nosurp
[link] by ~borderlining

behind and in front of a subject:
[link] by `hellfirediva}

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Well I hope that helps! Happy photo snapping!

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~Drumheart Oct 6, 2012 Hobbyist Photographer

Just wondering, how big must the heart shape be? I'll tried, but it just looks like a normal photo :/

~Dariian-r00 Apr 16, 2012

I can't never not like this tutorial, thank you very much!

*Tifa22 Feb 5, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

This is so cool! Thanks for making the tutorial!

~happymoonwolf Nov 24, 2011 Hobbyist Digital Artist

what aperature setting and iso should i use?

~9LivesVixen Aug 25, 2011 Hobbyist General Artist

Can this work on any type of digital camera?

~StarCrossedWolf May 7, 2011 Hobbyist Artisan Crafter

very cool, and clever ^^

~Araleva Mar 27, 2011 Hobbyist General Artist

beautifull :33 !!! really thanks for the tutorial

~gerrish Jan 29, 2011 Hobbyist Photographer

I feel like I'm doing something wrong. I drew a really small heart and yet it still seems too big for it to come out as a heart when I take a picture with some lights. But yet it clearly shows in your tutorial, you have a big heart cut out.

!MereBun Dec 4, 2010 Photographer

Cut a circle instead and TADAH solution for Canon EF 50mm. f/1.8 II hexagonal bokeh.
Really useful! Thanks for posting.

~Jessimie Dec 2, 2010 Professional Digital Artist

MIND BLOWN OoO
haha thanks!

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