This one sparked a bit of interest over at the Norwegian blog I’m contributing to for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. So, I’ll share the story here as well.
Update:
Video tutorial on how to make that cardboard cover for your lens
I recently bought the lens you see in the image. Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. Then Mr. Erlandsen pointed me to this.
Before you know it I made this one:
Equipped it with a snow crystal and mounted it on my camera:
Update:
I used some standard paper cutters to make the patterns.
Before you know it the images that have a traditional round bokeh:
…started looking like this:
Some more cutting and shapes and off we go…
All kinds of cool stuff. Christmas tree with hearts…
Street scene with hearts…
And you find my complete DIY Bokeh set over at Flickr.
eirikso 
great affects! ๐ how much did it cost 50 mm f/1.4? ๐ in EUR ๐
It retails for about 355 Euro here in expensive Norway… ๐
it’s 340 EUR in Slovenia ๐ But lowest prices are in Germany. Now I only buy there.
I found this blog post through the DIYPhotography website. I am having problems with the bokeh steps and didn’t know if you could guide me?
I’m using a D80 with an 18-135 lens and set to 18mm with a 1.4 aperature (i believe) come out with only my cutout then the rest of the frame is black. Any suggestions?
You need to zoom in to 100 mm or more. On that lens (as far as I know it’s f 3.5-5.6) you can only get this to work in the telephoto end of the lens.
So going all the way out to 135 then setting the aperature as low as it’ll go may work?
Should the shutter speed be anything in particular?
Thanks so much for your fast comment and help!!!
Yes, 135 mm and the lowest aperture you can get should do the trick. But it’s even better if you get a lens with aperture 2.8 or lower.
The shutter speed could be anything, but if you’re shooting hand held it should be at least 1/60. Basically, it is controlled by your aperture. You need the lowest possible aperture, and you’ll get the shutter speed your lowest aperture will give you anyway. One problem is that you loose a bit of light with this trick, so you might want to increase the ISO to 400 or 800. Depending on the shooting conditions.
ah ha! Last night I tried it opening the lens all the way to 135 but the biggest aperature I can get is 5.6…so I decreased to about 70mm but the lowest I can then get is 4. So that’s the issue, I believe, is that I am not able to get a big enough aperature. I saw some lens this morning online, a Sigma 18-50 with a 2.8 aperature so it looks like I need to bite the bullet and invest in another lens. Not just for this of course, but for general portraiture.
I really appreciate your comments. As soon as I get this to work I’ll show you my results!
For portraits I would have considered a prime lens like a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8. They are cheap and usually very sharp. And on the D80 it will turn into a beautiful 80mm portrait lens. And that kind of lens will work very well with the experiment here as well.
But still. For this experiment I would at least have done some tests with your lens at 135 mm and aperture 5.6.
[…] Simplement รฉnorme […]
Hi Eirik,
I was wondering if you could possibly do a tutorial on how you made the cardboard ‘hood’. It’s great that you’re able to use interchangeable shapes!
[…] this year I posted an article about how to make your own “bokeh” in your images. People have asked me for details about the cardboard “hood” I’ve […]
@Alex R:
That took a while, but now the tutorial is up:
https://eirikso.com/2008/11/06/how-to-make-that-cardboard-%E2%80%98hood%E2%80%99-for-the-diy-bokeh-effect/
Wow … how neat! Thanks for doing up the how-to … the photos you captured are lovely … ๐
Thank you! I’ve now done some tests with my new 5D MkII full frame, and I need another hood. On the full frame I need a bigger hole to make the pattern. The one I have now is vignetting on the full frame camera…
[…] Istruzioni chiare nel blog diย Eirik Solheim in questo post: https://eirikso.com/2008/01/08/an-impressive-yet-simple-photographic-effect/ […]
Awesome. Thank you for sharing
One year in forty second. Breath taking. especially for us in the tropics. Can I keep a copy ?.
Feel free to download it, keep it and play it on whatever equipment that suits you.
[…] ็ๆดๅค็ ง็ […]
In Germany you get the 50mm for 100 EUR ๐
The 50mm f1.4 or the 50mm f1.8 ?
In Norway the 50mm 1.8 is approx 100 Euro, and the 50 mm f1.4 is approx 400 Euro right now.
[…] Eirikso – Bokeh tutorial and samples […]
Hey erik,
i manage to get the light to the shape that i want but unfortunately, there’s still a vignetting around the image instead of them coming out clean. i’m using a 18-55mm standard kit lens and i’ve set it to 55m f/5.6. is there anyway that you could help me with this?
Unfortunately this effect won’t be perfect unless you have a lens with the possibility of an F-stop below f2.8.
F5.6 like you use on your lens gives a too deep depth of field. And that creates the vignetting.
Hey.
Awesome.
this looks fun.
Do you know if it wil work with the nikkor 35mm, f1,8?
On a full frame camera or on a camera with a crop factor?
Its an D80. the crop factor is about 1,5 i guess. But never mind, it worked as a charm, if thats the rigth ekspression ๐
btw thanks for a great tutorial.
Cool! Then we know… 35mm f1.8 + Nikon D80 = success. ๐
aahhh.. alright, that explains it then. thanks so much for the advice and tutorial! ๐
[…] and attach it to your lens, you get the out-of-focus lights to show up with that shape! Check out this page for how it is done and these Flickr search results to get some inspiration. Photo by: […]
[…] Shaped Bokeh Tutorial […]
Hello!
I was just wondering if using a 18-55mm lens can make this effect?
Do email me back!
Thanks ๐
If it’s an 18-55 f2.8 it would probably work @55mm
If it’s f3,5 or f5,6 it might be more difficult. But in general: just try! ๐
[…] here the links forย the flickr and the written out tutorial […]
Hi sorry I am a bit confused – could you help?
I made the ‘hood’ that goes over the camera, put my camera on the lowest aperture, but when I took a picture it was just black with the cutout shape in the middle? I don’t understand what you have to do when you take the photo? Thank you!!!!
What camera and what lens?
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?rlz=1C1AVSW_enGB363GB378&q=fujifilm+finepix+s5800&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=17861166593910128638&ei=TQf2TIXeI4azhAfpzeTpBQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CD0Q8wIwAg#
It goes up to f/3.5.
I understand. It will be very, very difficult to get the bokeh-effect with that camera. Maybe, if you zoom in to full tele, takes an image of something that is very close and have some lights out of focus in the background.
In general, only SLR cameras have a sensor that is big enough to achieve a proper bokeh. In addition to that you need an aperture of 2.8 or preferably lower to make sure the background is completely out of focus.
Thank you so much for your help – I’ll try ๐
The results look so much better than having to cut the shapes by hand! Where can I buy me one of those paper cutters?
I guess any well assorted hobby / paper-shop.
Can I use 58mm instead of 50mm?
Probably. But it depends on the camera and aperture. The camera should be one with a pretty large sensor and the aperture should be set to 2,8 or lower.
[…] of the lens, Solheim achieved some gorgeous visuals with a little work and a lot of ingenuity. Take a look at Solheim’s blog for more information. […]
[…] Eirik Solheim shows you how to make a DIY cardboard hood for creating your own custom bokeh effects with your DSLR camera. You can read more about it on his website HERE. […]
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment on https://eirikso.com/2008/01/08/an-impressive-yet-simple-photographic-effect but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say wonderful blog!
[…] Image by eirikso eirikso.com/2008/01/08/an-impressive-yet-simple-photograp… […]
Awesome. Thank you for sharing
[…] Image by eirikso eirikso.com/2008/01/08/an-impressive-yet-simple-photograp… […]
[…] eirikso.com/2008/01/08/an-impressive-yet-simple-photograp… […]