What is Bokeh and How It Affects Your Images

Bokeh is one of the most popular photography techniques, perhaps because it’s powerful yet easy to do. All you need is a camera that allows you to adjust aperture and focal length, ideally a DSLR with a large maximum aperture.

Many photographers like bokeh due to its visually pleasing qualities. It doesn’t only provide a blurry backdrop that draws attention to the subject, but it also creates images that look dreamy, eye-catching and even otherworldly.

Bokeh is a great technique for portraits because it minimizes distractions, keeping the viewers’ attention on the model. It can beautify an ugly background, too. For instance, you can turn a grungy urban background into a picturesque evening scene through bokeh.

Bokeh can also be an effective way to add interest to portraits that lack eye contact, e.g. if the model is turned away from the camera. Without this eye contact, viewers are more likely to place their attention on the rest of the photo. If the background isn’t especially interesting, you can make it more interesting and beautiful through bokeh.

Why Is Aperture Important for Bokeh?

Bokeh is almost entirely down to the lens you use. A bokeh lens, if you will.

It is the lens design that determines blur, and the aesthetic quality of this blur. Portrait mode won’t help you here, and there’s no such thing as bokeh mode.

By manipulating aperture, you get a focal distance and a focal point.

That’s why the widest aperture of your lens is important. Aperture ranges from f/2.8 at its widest, all the way up to f/22 at its deepest.

If we use an aperture of f/2.8, we get a very shallow depth of field. The depth of field is how much of our scene or subject is in focus. F/22 would be the opposite, placing everything in focus.

The wider the aperture, the more background blur will appear in your image.