
My old Canon 100-400mm L-series lens has nine blades. Because lenses contains a different number of blades, different lenses create different blur characteristics. The shape of the aperture blades inside a lens.Three things affect how the bokeh appears in an image: Still, the use of a 100mm macro lens combined with a smaller depth of field (f/8) rendered circular shapes in the out of focus areas, specifically in the hairs on the stem and in the distant background (circled in red on the right). The shapes of the blurred areas are less defined than the shapes seen in the image at the top of this post. PHOTOS: Although some may say this close-up photograph of a fiddleneck does not show a “bokeh effect” (which is incorrect), we can assess the bokeh, or quality of the blur, depicted. Also, since foreground and midground can appear out of focus in a photograph, assessing a bokeh shouldn’t be limited solely a blurred background. It’s simply different in quality-smoother and less obvious-than the one with a bunch of pronounced orbs.

So an image with no distinct out of focus circular shapes also has a bokeh. Per the definition, though, bokeh describes the aesthetic quality of the blur’s appearance. Most frequently, a photograph with distinct, but out of focus, circular shapes, specifically in the background, is said to “have a bokeh.” Merriam-Webster defines “bokeh” as “the blurred quality of effect seen in the out-of-focus portion of a photograph taken with a narrow depth of field.” Bokeh is often attributed, though, solely to the shapes appearing in the blurred background of an image.
#Bokeh definition in english how to
Some say it’s “boke” which rhymes with “poke.” Others say it’s “boke-uh” which rhymes with “polka.” Lexico, which is a branch of the Oxford Dictionary, suggests in its sound recording that it’s pronounced “bow-kay” as in a “bouquet” of flowers.Įven if The Great and Almighty Gods of Photography-the internet-could agree on how to pronounce it, the definition of the term is frequently misunderstood. Still today the pronunciation is debated.

The word “bokeh” originates from the Japanese word “boke” which means “blur.” It is believed the English derivation came into existence in 1997 when the editor of Photo Techniques magazine thought adding an “h” to the end of the word would help people pronounce it correctly. In your post last week, you said something about a “bokeh effect.” What is a bokeh effect? I’ve never heard of it before.
