Every photographer considers it an achievement when he manages to capture sharp photographs with a pronounced blurry background or foreground. Amateurs in particular fall in love with their photos if they can master the settings of their cameras to produce great shallow Depth of Field (DOF) photos. DOF is one thing but Bokeh is another, though they are closely related. Bokeh is the quality of the photo’s out-of-focus region created by the lens and not the actual blur or the amount of it as created by the camera.

Bokeh is best depicted by shapes that represent light areas on the DOF or the blur part of the photo. You might have seen the blur background of a photo but the blur is shown by soft circles or polygonal shapes especially created by the light reflected on the background. That in essence is what separates a Bokeh from a normal DOF.

Though it may seem hard for amateurs to achieve a really good Bokeh, it is actually not that hard though mastering the art and regularly being able to produce great Bokeh photos with your camera is quite hard. Nevertheless in just a few steps, you may be able to have your first Bokeh. It is important to note, however, that a normal digital camera and a DSLR work differently and so creating Bokehs in each differs. A Bokeh’s quality depends on the type of lens used to a greater extent and so a point and shoot or a hardy digital camera may not produce the same quality as a DSLR with a proper lens.

Here are a few tips on how you can create a Bokeh with a digital and a DSLR.

1. To start with, you need to make the background of your photo blur. If you have a high end point and shoot camera of a DSLR, put it on ‘Aperture priority’ mode or if you have a normal digital camera or others, set it to ‘Macro’ or ‘Portrait’ mode.
2. If you are using DSLR, set it to lower f-stop number so that you can get a very shallow depth of field. Regular lenses have a range from f3.5 to 5.6 thought they may also go higher. Good professional lenses can go as low as f1.2 and that will be a great one since a smaller number f-stop allows for a larger aperture, which in turn lets in more light to the image.
3. In all the cameras, the flash should be switched off. It is advisable to shoot in broad day light or when there is enough natural light especially if you are using a digital camera since such cameras may not produce good images in low light. DSLRs can get great Bokehs in the night though. If you shoot in low light, use low ISO speed or use a tripod to avoid ‘bad Bokeh’ and noise. However, if your camera is a low end digital, try to shoot in relatively low light settings so that the background reflections can be well pronounced.
4. If you are using a pocket size digital camera, you should focus on a small object just in front of the camera with a proper background with lights and colours if possible. Once you get a sharp focus on the object, quickly remove the object and release the shutter. This will create a Bokeh without a subject in the photo. However, many photographers prefer to include subjects since this adds interest to the viewers. 
5. The distance of the subject from the background also matters and so does the distance from the camera to the subject. For a digital and point and shoot cameras, you should allow at least 5 to 6 feet from between the two. A DSLR can eliminate the background easily even if the distance is not that much depending on the quality of the lens, though of course it becomes easier if you can allow same distance. For a DSLR, you should physically move closer to the subject and then focus, though this may not work as well if you are using a digital camera.

Final word

As an amateur, we always advice on trying repeatedly before you can call yourself a pro or before you can give up thinking you will never achieve it. James Mullah, a photographer based in Gwangju, South Korea says that many photographers give up looking for Bokehs when the circles at the background are not as great as the one they see in internet tutorials yet they forget that those were taken using high end lenses. You have the tips, now get the Bokeh!