Sinful Sunday Monthly Prompt December 2018

The prompt for 2nd December 2018 is: Bokeh

I have had this one on my list of possible challenges for a long time now but have constantly passed it over for the reason that it is not the easiest of effects to achieve especially if you don’t have a DSLR camera. However I can’t keep avoiding it forever and so I have decided now is the time to tackle this one especially as it lends itself well to Christmas lights etc

What is Bokeh?

Bokeh “is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens” as per Wikipedia. Basically it is the blur that often includes those little light spots or bubbles around a picture. It is basically a distortion of light in the lens caused when using a very shallow depth of field.

It is relatively easy to achieve with a camera that allows you to adjust the depth of field but you still need to get the light right otherwise you will end up with a overly bright background and no bokeh effect.

This is a link to a simple tutorial that can help you get started if you have no idea how to achieve this

Bokeh Tutorial

If you only have a camera phone this is going to be trickier but not impossible. Firstly have a look at your settings, lots of camera phones these days have camera settings and if it is possible to change the depth of field then go for it. You want a low f stop, f4,5 or below but be careful because when you do that you will also need to lower the exposure as a low f stop will allow more light in. If you camera won’t allow this, or you can’t work it out, then you can try to force it in camera by controlling where the camera focus is. If you look at the tutorial above it will explain about position of your subject in relation to the light source but basically you want as much distance as possible so your subject needs to be near the camera and your lights far away so if you are taking it in front of a Christmas tree then you need as much distance between yourself and the tree as possible.

Editing

It is possible to add a bokeh effect in to an image after you have taken it using editing. Both Pixlr-o-matic and Mix by Camera 360 which are excellent editing aps for your phone has options to do it if you explore them. The other way you could also achieve it is to take two separate image, one with the bokeh effect and other without and then layer the two together but it can be tough to make this look natural.

Inspiration

Below are some links to Bokeh images to help inspire you

Festive by Penny for your Dirty Thoughts

B is for Bondage by A to sub Bee

Nature had come by Molly’s Daily Kiss

Our Bed by Molly’s Daily Kiss

D is for Decoration by Molly’s Daily Kiss

The prompt is published here on the site mid month, which will give people approximately 2 weeks to work on their idea before linking in, on the 1st weekend of the month. The prompt is completely optional and you can link in as normal on that weekend whether you have used the prompt or not. The usual Sinful Sunday rules will, of course, apply. Please make sure you have read them recently so that you are fully aware of what is and is not allowed. As always interpret as you wish, or disregard altogether and do you own thing. Have your post ready to go for Sunday 2nd December 2018. Any questions or queries can be posted in the comments below, you can email me [email protected] or tweet me @mollysdailykiss

Mollyx