Bokeh. Yup, it’s time to continue my discussion on that screwy term and talk about what goes into creamy out-of-focus backgrounds. So, before we dive into today’s topic, let’s mention what we’ve learned so far:
1. Bokeh comes from the Japanese, and roughly means to be out of focus. It describes the aesthetic quality of a shot’s out of focus area.
2. It is a complex thing influenced by many variables.
3. One of these variables is aperture, and wide (low number) apertures are better because they have shallower DOF.
So, next up is the variable of focal length. Focal length, you’re likely aware, is how long the lens’ front element is from the sensor and it affects how your camera “sees” the world. The human eye has roughly a 45 degree field of view. A telephoto lens might only have, say, a 25 degree field of view. That means it’s seeing less of a scene than your eyes, but since it’s putting it on the same size sensor your final shot will make it seem like the lens made an area “bigger”. It’s the other way around for wide angles, and they’ll shove much more of a scene than you can see onto that same size sensor, making everything look smaller.
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