In Search of The Perfect Bokeh

Over the past few weeks I’ve been experimenting with different types of background blur (the bokeh affect).

In order to achieve great macro you need to be sure that nothing in the image is there by mistake and every part of the image is pleasing to the eye. What looks like an insignificant speck to the naked eye, can be a huge dark shape in a macro image.

Different things I’ve experimented with include water drops (see image 1: Dill After the Rain); fizzy water (see image 2: The Poppies are Here); Trees (see image 3: White Fox Glove).

Then I got my hands on some metal shavings from a CNC Mill. I glued the Chipping’s all over a board; I call this my bokeh board. I place the board behind my subject and keeping a shallow depth of field I’m able to get a great blur.

It’s not all about the DOF, To achieve a good bokeh affect you need to focus on the subject then slightly twist the angle of the camera until you see the background blur, then refocus.

The last images are taken using my bokeh board, in the last image of the hover fly I managed to slide it behind the hover fly wile he was feeding on the plant with good results.

You can achieve good bokeh in all types of photography not just macro.