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Project 52 Week 27: “Bokeh”

Welcome to Week 27 or our 52 Week Pet Photography Project’s Bog Circle.  This week’s topic is a favorite of mine:  “Bokeh”!

What is “bokeh”?

It is defined as “the blurred quality or effect seen in the out-of-focus portion of a photograph taken with a narrow depth of field”

How does one create this effect and the beauty of it?  I found a nice and simple description from Luvo Photography:

There are three simple rules that can be applied to create bokeh:

  1. Use a large aperture
  2. Use a focal length longer than 35mm on a crop camera and 50mm on a full frame camera
  3. The subject you are focusing on should be close to the camera, and the background far away.

Much of my photography style consists of shooting with a larger aperture – between f/2 and f/2.8.  My favorite lens in the bag is my Canon 135 mm – i love the dreamy bokeh that can be obtained from f/2 – f/2.5.

The first 3 images are taken with my 135 mm lens. Kota was my model this week and we stayed close to home and in the backyard.  Due to the HEAT and HUMIDITY (UGH!) outdoor sessions with her were kept very short… and she wasn’t very interested in looking at the camera!  I was still able to get some bokeh I was happy with!

In this first image, I did miss the focus pt. on Kota’s eye but I loved the colorful bokeh obtained here.  I would not usually crop this way, but the fact that she was looking upward, focus on her nose, I thought this could work!

 

Kota Bokeh Blog Post 1 of 1
135 mm @ f/2.5

 

Loving the oranges in this second image close up of Kota.  This was also taken at the same time as the previous image – 5:30 ish (early evening)

Kota Bokeh Blog Post 2 1 of 1
135 mm @ f/2.5

 

The next image was taken on a different day slightly earlier.  I know the bow doesn’t match but she was showing her Independence Day spirit!  This was shot at f/2.0.  I had hoped to get some early morning shots… but unfortunately I’m not a morning person and the sun was too bright and the light too dappled already at 8 AM when I was rolling out of bed each day 🙂

 

Kota Blog Bokeh 1 of 1
135 mm @ f/2.o

 

The next image is from a recent photo session with senior pooch, Bailey.  This cutie is 13 years old and LOVED hiking the trails!  This image is with my 24-70 mm lens at 70 mm.  I was able to get a bit of “bokeh” with some pretty purple flowers that were in the background.

 

Bailey Kotas Friend 1 of 1
“Bailey” 24-70mm @ f/2.8

 

Thanks for stopping by our Blog Circle!  Next up is Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati and the San Francisco Bay Area.  Click on the link at the end of each post to see a variety beautiful images from Pet Photographer’s around the world!  Have a great weekend!

 

26 thoughts on “Project 52 Week 27: “Bokeh””

  1. Really nice Bokeh – I’m curious what the background actually is behind Kota. Most everything here in Florida is ‘green’ so I don’t have to many options on the variety of colors in the outdoors right now – but yours is beautiful!

    1. Thank you so much, Linda! I will admit my struggle…. green tint/color cast that picks up on Kota’s face with all the greenery in spring and summer! So I did some “extreme” warming up of the temperature in lightroom and the the image that has the most oranges i changed up the colors a bit and went for all around “warm”.

    1. Thanks, Kim! LOVE Bailey 🙂 you know me and the seniors … I adore them! He was a great sport for photos!

    1. Thanks – She showed her patience again this week! 🙂 This summer seems like a long one… and it’s only the beginning of July?!

  2. Excellent bokeh especially the one of Bailey with the purple flowers! The blue-white background blends nicely with the dog’s color.

    1. Thank you! I was obsessed with getting the purple flowers in that day 🙂 And white dogs can be a challenge – he was a great model!!!

  3. That second image with the subtle orange hues is wonderful. They are all lovely, but that one speaks to me. Kota, as always, working those expressive ears!

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