Tag: techniques

Adding bokeh patterns to your photos

Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

With your DSLR camera you can add some fun effects to your photos.  No need to spend hours on post-production, nor expensive equipment.  This simple technique adds custom shaped bokeh to your photos giving them new interest and originality.

In case you haven’t used the term bokeh, it refers to the blurred patches of the photo.  And here we hope to give these patches a shape. Let’s go though the simple steps you need to add bokeh patterns to your photos.

Equipment:

  1. Dark card or plastic
  2. Scissors or sharp knife
  3. Tape
  4. An objective with a wide aperture (f2.8 or wider if possible)

Steps:

Time needed: 45 minutes

Adding custom bokeh patterns to your photos

  1. Cut the card

    Cut the card into a disk the same size as the objective

  2. Design the custom pattern

    In the centre cut out the desired pattern, up to 2 cm across.

  3. Tape it to the objective

    with black electricians tape, fix the card to the objective leaving no gaps

  4. Set the apperture

    Set aperture to f2.8 or wider, and manual focus if you prefer

  5. Shoot

    Take a few shots and verify the effect. Move yourself and the camera to experiment taking the shot from different angles, elevations and positions.

When you take a photo you don’t control where the bokeh appear and the same is true here.  So experiment by moving in relation to the light source.  You may find that you need greater distance than you think between the light source and the object, especially if you are using a 50mm lens.

These 2 were taken using a 100mm macro lens at f2.8.  It’s a laurel bush in the sun.

Using 2 caches:  58mm diameter with 18mm and 22mm shapes.  They were made from the base of 2 black plastic plant pots. More details from an external website.

Other photos of mine are available for purchase on my Adobe Stock store or directly below.


Create unique desktop wallpaper

Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minute

An interesting idea to create some bright and unique desktop wallpaper.

Equipment:

  1. A large glass vase or dish
  2. Small blocks, for example lego, cotton reels
  3. Water
  4. Cooking oil
  5. Washing up liquid
  6. Colourful image

Steps:

Time needed: 1 hour

Colourful oil on water for bright wallpaper

  1. Put the blocks on the colourful paper

    If possible out of shot

  2. Put the dish on the small blocks

    Making sure it’s level

  3. Fill the dish with water

    carefully as splashing will spoil the paper, also not too full as could get you in trouble spilling the water when you have to empty the dish

  4. Add a few drops of washing up liquid

    start with 5; you can always add more

  5. Add oil to the water until the surface is covered with droplets

    a gentle stir can help

  6. Take the shot and experiment

    enjoy!

The results will vary depending on the lighting, the background,  the movement, if any, of the water. The result is guaranteed to be a unique desktop wallpaper.

In the above photo I went crazy and laid some garden flowers on the surface. More tips on this subject are available on the web, for example, here.

Some of my photos are available for purchase on my Adobe Stock store, via the link in the menu or directly below.