Understanding Bokeh

The amount of blur in a photograph

The quality of out-of-focus parts of an image rendered by a camera lens

The sharpness of the subject in focus

The blur itself in the foreground or background of a subject

Consumer zoom lenses

Prime lenses with small maximum apertures

Wide-angle lenses

Telephoto lenses with large maximum apertures

Blur with soft and creamy background

Blur with colorful and vibrant reflections

Blur with sharp edges and distinct shapes

Blur with a lot of detail and texture

The type of camera used

The distance between the subject and the camera

The aperture setting of the lens

The focal length of the lens / lens diaphragm

Use a smaller aperture to create sharper bokeh circles

Increase the distance between the subject and the background

Avoid shooting in low light conditions

Shoot wide open at the lens's maximum aperture

Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G DX lens

Canon 85mm f/1.2 II USM lens

Sony 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 FE OSS lens

Panasonic Lumix G9 with a 12-60mm Leica lens

f/8

f/16

f/2.8

f/5.6

To capture sharp and detailed background elements

To create a sense of depth in the photograph

To draw attention to a specific area of the image

To make the entire image appear blurry

Yes, by using external lens attachments

Yes, by using the portrait mode or adjusting the depth of field

No, bokeh can only be achieved with professional cameras

No, smartphones do not have the capability to create bokeh