You also want to be aware of the construction of the aperture blades themselves, as the lens you choose will affect the quality of the balls. In general, the photographers we interviewed recommend shooting at f2.8 or lower, depending on what your lens can do.įor this technique, a fast prime lens works best. “Keep in mind that ND filters can allow you to shoot wide open in brighter settings.” “If you’re going for bokeh, do what you can to shoot with the widest aperture possible,” the portrait photographer Nate Zoeller suggests. Of course, the very first step is opening up your aperture for that shallow depth of field. We reached out to six artists embracing classic bokeh and pushing the trend into new and exciting territory they were kind enough to share their secrets for perfect blur. You will note I hardly mention camera settings below, all you need to know is how to set the aperture to the lowest number (usually 1.4 or 1.8), then balance out the other settings (ISO and shutter speed) to give a good exposure.Browse social media for trending hashtags like #bokeh_addicts, #bokehlicious, #bokehkillers, #bokeh_bliss, or #pearlsofbokeh, and you’ll get a feel for what’s possible. To add to the mix we also tested some prime lenses against two zoom lenses, the 18-300mm and the 18-140mm lens, just to give you something to compare the prime lenses to. 35mm, 50mm and 85mm are the most common sizes. These lenses almost always come with a large aperture (The aforementioned big hole). So! Over to Terry… The best lens for background blurring (bokeh)įirstly if you want background blurring, otherwise known as Bokeh, in full length fashion pictures then you want a prime lens – that’s a lens that doesn’t zoom. He still insists it’s as simple as that, (Don’t get me wrong, he takes a mean picture but he’s not much for technical snobbery…) but after some cajoling from yours truly, he laid out his thoughts to this question in a simple comparison, using some of the lenses we’ve acquired over the years. I mean, I’ll write 3,000 words on that one time I got locked in the bathroom, no worries, but ask me to explain anything even remotely technical, and I’ll just be all, “Er, I know how to do it myself, but I don’t know how to explain it to you: sorry.”Īs Terry’s the guy behind the camera in most of my outfit photos, I asked him what his top photography tip for background blurring would be, and this was his answer: “Get a decent camera and a lens with the biggest hole possible.” Now, the fact is that when I get a blurry background on a photo, it’s normally because the foreground is blurry too, and I’ve messed up with the camera settings again: d’oh! But I’m guessing that’s probably not the answer you were looking for to this one, is it? Also, I’m joking: I DO actually know how to get that amazing bokeh effect, I’m just not very good at explaining this kind of thing. This finally inspired me to provide a guide to answer my most often asked photography question: “Hey, Amber, how do you get your background all blurry like that?” Seriously, I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s been mumbling about in his sleep recently – it’s THAT good. Or rather, Terry is.Īs I mentioned earlier this week, Terry and I have been thinking about upgrading our existing DSLR camera (the Nikon D7000), and, to that end, we’ve been trying out the Nikon D7500, along with a lens that Terry has literally not stopped raving about since it arrived. You know those beautiful blurred backgrounds you always see on fashion blogs? The ones that never seem to actually happen when you try to take them yourself? Well, today I’m here to help you out.
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