Bokeh

Most people don’t realize exactly how new the term Bokeh, as pertaining to photography, really is (it was probably coined around the late 1990’s). Derived from the Japanese word bokeaji meaning “fuzzy”, bokeh refers to the area of a photograph that is out of focus. That’s it. Simple really.

Often, however, you will see the term bokeh used as an aesthetic measuring term such as “good Bokeh” and that’s where it can get a little fuzzy (yes, I did that on purpose). As in anything else in photography (or other art for that matter) image appeal is left to the viewer.

First, let’s take a quick glimpse into what creates bokeh anyway.

Lenses render out-of-focus (think shallow depth of field) points of light as circles that are either hard edged or soft edged (not always circles).

“Good Bokeh” is typically defined by the softer edged blurs.

Here’s the deal. A perfectly made lens (corrected for aberrations) actually produces hard edged circles of light!

Lens manufacturers, in recognizing this trend, have combated the “problem” by curving aperture blades or adding more aperture blades to create “better circles of light” instead of polygonal shapes. Furthermore, most lens manufacturers have lenses where you can actually control the rendering of the out of focus area.

Does it really matter how good the bokeh is?

It depends on who you ask. Me personally? I never really worry about it. My focus in photography has always been on emotion and composition first. Everything else usually falls in place. Others, I’m sure, will disagree.

That being said, I’ve commented on images that had really Good Bokeh.

Clear enough?

Photograph Apple Bokeh!!!! by krashingmotions. For more photography by this artist see KrashingMotions

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Related posts:

1. Why A Fixed Focal Length 50mm Lens Is The Must Have Lens In Your Camera Bag
2. Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO
3. A Different Kind Of Focus
4. The Exposure Equation