Bokeh facts for kids
Bokeh (pronounced BOH-keh) is a cool effect you see in photos! It comes from a Japanese word, "boke," which means "blur." When photographers talk about bokeh, they mean the blurry, soft background you sometimes see in pictures. It's also used to describe how good or smooth that blurry background looks.
Bokeh isn't a special trick. It's a natural effect that happens because of something called "depth of field." Imagine your camera lens letting in light. The more light it lets in, the blurrier the background can get. Also, the distance between what you're focusing on (the subject) and the camera lens matters. If your subject is too far away, you won't see much bokeh.
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What Makes Good Bokeh?
The quality of bokeh can be "good" or "bad." What looks good can depend on what you like! But generally, "good" bokeh looks very smooth. It makes the background seem to "melt away." "Bad" bokeh might look like harsh, bright blobs of light.
Bokeh and Focus
Even though bokeh is about blur, it's connected to how a lens focuses. Experts in optics (the science of light and lenses) often call it "defocus." If an entire picture is just bokeh, it means the whole photo is out of focus!
Types of Bokeh Effects
Swirly Bokeh
Some camera lenses create a special kind of bokeh that looks like it's swirling around the main subject. This is called "swirly bokeh." It's often used in photos of people (portraits). This effect can happen because of small imperfections in the lens. However, some special lenses are actually designed to create this unique swirly look on purpose!
Shaped Bokeh
Bokeh usually takes the shape of the camera's aperture. The aperture is like a small hole inside the lens that controls how much light gets in. Most apertures are round, so most bokeh looks circular. But you can change this! You can place a special "mask" (like a piece of black paper with a shape cut out) over your camera lens. Then, the bokeh will take on the shape you cut out, like a heart or a star!
Donut-Shaped Bokeh
Some special camera lenses and telescopes use both mirrors and lenses. These are called "catadioptric lenses." Because they have a mirror in the middle, the bokeh they produce looks like a ring or a donut!
Why is Bokeh Used?
Photographers use bokeh in many different types of pictures. It's very popular in nature, portrait, and sports photography. The main reason is that bokeh helps to "isolate" the subject. This means it makes the main thing in the picture really stand out from the background. It helps you focus on what's important in the photo!
Images for kids
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From left to right: an original photo with no blur; the same photo with a fake bokeh effect added; the same photo with a general blur effect.
See also
In Spanish: Bokeh para niños
