What is so special about Bokeh?

[vohu manah]

What is it that makes Bokeh special? Is it just about focusing and sharpening on a close object, while getting the background too on the picture?


I have a 13 year old cousin who keeps blabbing about Bokeh to me, she has a camera but wants a Canon EOS 1000D. I don't have a lot of money, and I want a good reason to get it for her. Her camera is not bad, but she says it is impossible to take good Bokeh images with, and that is why she wants that Canon.

[RADCOM]

it highlights the subject whilst blurring the distracting background objects creating a more aesthetic compilation

[Metric]

+1 RADCOM. Bokeh can be also the way a lens renders out-of-focus points or area of an image. They can also be defined by the characteristic of these out-of-focus areas appear: bokeh can be 'creamy', 'harsh', 'painterly', etc - it's a very subjective topic on what people consider 'good' or 'bad' bokeh.

It seems what your cousin is really wanting a way to get a controlled and shallower depth-of-field effect with her camera - which is what a DSLR will get her - the bokeh she's talking about is just describing that characteristic/style of the out-of-focus area she's looking for in her photos.

[Mescalamba]

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/983034

Scroll thru thread, look at photos, at some point you will realize why its bokeh special and can be quite important.

Problem is, that its not just "camera", but you need lens. Preferably fast lens. So something like 35mm f1.4 is ideal for Canon 1000D (35mm cause its APS-C camera, so it will look like 50mm on full-frame camera). Camera with kit lens wont do that job (though Nikon 50-200mm kit lens have quite nice bokeh).

[Lestat]

a cousin... who whines about wanting a more expensive camera... you dont have alot of money....
you ever thought about telling her to get a job.. or maybe bug someone else about buying her a camera that she doesnt need, and that you cant afford?
you can buy a $50 camera and still get good back ground blurring (bokeh) if the lens has a wide enough aperture.

listen she doesnt need a Canon 1000D to get good bokeh.

If you insist on buying her a camera go buy her a Canon Rebel XT and the Canon 50mm 1.8
if she is worth anything, and isnt just blabbering about something someone told her and she knows nothing about it, then she will appreciate the gift and will be able to produce fantastic images.

cousin or not, i'd tell her to get a job and you'll split the price with her.
otherwise your gift means nothing to her because she didnt spend a dime on it.

i think you first need to tell us what she is using right now.

and WHY WHY on earth a 13 yr old kid who doesnt know anything about anything needs a Canon 1000D.. with all seriousness,,,, i wouldnt buy any 13yr old a $500 camera... no way in heck.

[lkiller123]

First of all, tell her to take good pictures with her current camera.

Bokeh - teens love that sort of stuffs. They see it on Tumblr, they get excited, they believe that they can do something like that with the same camera that took the picture. Don't get her the Canon until she gets serious.
Bokeh:

Hong Kong Walk - Sean by James Yeung, on Flickr

Not saying that a little p&s is able to make bokeh. But bokeh isn't everything in photography; tell her to compose proper pictures first before talking about bokeh.

[shoota]

Beautiful shot man. I agree with what they are saying about bokeh. It's one of my favorite effects and when it's done right it can evoke a lot of emotion. My friend used a nice non-dslr but not point and shoot (whatever those might be called) to take some nice bokeh shots and then framed them and hung them on his wall. So it can be done without breaking the bank.

[vohu manah]

Well her mom told me that she has a Nikon for 150usd, but that I shouldn't buy her a camera because a newspaper just hired her friend as a photographer, and is considering to hire her too, so they gave her a camera and asked her to take photos during the summer, and if they liked the photos, they will hire her too O.o ...it's a newspaper for kids and teens lol

brat >_<


I know that a 5-600$ is pretty expensive for a 13-year-old, but I've worked with professional cameras since I was 6-7 years old. My dad loves photography, and when I was a kid he let me borrow his cameras and books. If my dad had bought me a professional camera at that time, it wouldn't have been a waste.... my cousin lives in Germany, I live in Sweden & Denmark so I'm not close enough to her to know how good she is at this...

[lkiller123]

My father once worked as a professional cinematographer/director/producer. He bought me a $150 Sony from Costco. When I asked for a better camera about a month later, he told me that real photography is about "creating the photo," and that a true photographer can "make the best photos from the worst camera."

Hey, I'm still using that little $100 Sony after 3 years, and I don't think my parents will be willing to spend $500 on a camera any time soon.

[vohu manah]

My father once worked as a professional cinematographer/director/producer. He bought me a $150 Sony from Costco. When I asked for a better camera about a month later, he told me that real photography is about "creating the photo," and that a true photographer can "make the best photos from the worst camera."

Hey, I'm still using that little $100 Sony after 3 years, and I don't think my parents will be willing to spend $500 on a camera any time soon.

I agree with you, but when you focus on some specific things, for instance Bokeh as my cousin does, then the camera and lens gets relative. Personally I really don't get the point with Bokeh, because I focus on what I focus on with the camera and not the background; if the background isn't blurry enough, I'll just edit it with Photoshop... but I accept that it is more relative for my cousin.

[duron]

if it wasn't for the "bokeh" created by the wide opening of the lens this picture would be very busy

[Dainas]

I shoot with a lot of fast wide aperture lenses, an F1.1 being my fav and with my full frame camera that makes for really narrow DoF. To me great bokeh is to be a non entity, something organic and not distracting so all eyes gravitate straight to the focal point. Bokeh is not the reason I didn't cheap out and get some tiny sensor M43 camera, its about resolution and performance and the ability to use low ISO and get excellent contrast in lower light situations.

[vohu manah]

if it wasn't for the "bokeh" created by the wide opening of the lens this picture would be very busy

Well, I get your point, but please try to understand mine; this picture is unpleasing for me to watch, because she reminds me of how I look on mondays. She's wearing a heavy bag on her shoulder, and she looks busy and too distracted to make a smile for the camera.

I shoot with a lot of fast wide aperture lenses, an F1.1 being my fav and with my full frame camera that makes for really narrow DoF. To me great bokeh is to be a non entity, something organic and not distracting so all eyes gravitate straight to the focal point. Bokeh is not the reason I didn't cheap out and get some tiny sensor M43 camera, its about resolution and performance and the ability to use low ISO and get excellent contrast in lower light situations.

I personally agree with you, but my cousin has more focus on the blur than the focal point.

[kaok]

First of all, tell her to take good pictures with her current camera.

Bokeh - teens love that sort of stuffs. They see it on Tumblr, they get excited, they believe that they can do something like that with the same camera that took the picture. Don't get her the Canon until she gets serious.

Not saying that a little p&s is able to make bokeh. But bokeh isn't everything in photography; tell her to compose proper pictures first before talking about bokeh.

+1

Nowadays DSLRs are something everyone must have. Then people don't even bother learning the correct technique to handle the camera and keep taking pics with everything set to AUTO... If your budget is tight, tell her to concentrate on other things like photoshop (or GIMP which is free btw) and composition.

[BeepBeep2]

and WHY WHY on earth a 13 yr old kid who doesnt know anything about anything needs a Canon 1000D.. with all seriousness,,,, i wouldnt buy any 13yr old a $500 camera... no way in heck.

I am 16 now.

When I was 13/14 I was really into photography with my P&S...I got really creative and tried my best, made some pretty nice compositions. However, I outgrew the camera and it's abilities pretty quickly. Actually quite a few of you were suggesting that I talk to my parents about getting a DSLR as I deserved to move up. I am now able to flex my mind, shoot in scenarios that I'd never been able to before. I got my DSLR for my 16th birthday, in fact I payed $700 on it myself.

Age is not always a factor in intelligence.

[lkiller123]

Is it not about the intelligence.

Kids tend to be half-assed about their "hobbies." You buy them an expensive camera, and they will get extremely excited with it.. for the first couple months.
Boom, two months later they forgot all about the camera. Now they will start asking you for something else.

Before buying them a DSLR, ask them whether they like photography for photography itself, or if they like photography for the gears.
People just spend too much time worrying about the gears. They think that it is the camera that is limiting them from creating better pictures, but in reality they are stopping themselves.

Now I am not saying that you shouldn't get a DSLR. If you have a DSLR, awesome. But if you don't, not the end of the world, keep taking better pictures and save up for one.

[saveus222]

I agree with you, but when you focus on some specific things, for instance Bokeh as my cousin does, then the camera and lens gets relative. Personally I really don't get the point with Bokeh, because I focus on what I focus on with the camera and not the background; if the background isn't blurry enough, I'll just edit it with Photoshop... but I accept that it is more relative for my cousin.

Thats a little ignorant... The art of photography depends mostly on how you compose your shot, how interesting you can make it... Not just take a subject make sure they're in focus... Those are photos you take for passport and visa purposes... The reason bokeh/depth of field is so "exciting" is becausethe human eye is able to distinguish the separation of the subject from the background much better... (separation is key) otherwise its known as a "flat" shot... also, the more layers you can add into the picture, the better

[BeepBeep2]

Thats a little ignorant... The art of photography depends mostly on how you compose your shot, how interesting you can make it... Not just take a subject make sure they're in focus... Those are photos you take for passport and visa purposes... The reason bokeh/depth of field is so "exciting" is becausethe human eye is able to distinguish the separation of the subject from the background much better... (separation is key) otherwise its known as a "flat" shot... also, the more layers you can add into the picture, the better

necro necro necro

It's been half a year, man.