Hi everyone, I’m Lucy Ketchum and I’m so excited to participate in this month’s theme which is a favorite of mine: BOKEH!
Before we dive in, a little about me.. I live in Houston, TX with my family of four + 2 cats. I don’t have littles kids anymore so four years ago, when they were full into their teenage years, I decided to start shooting flowers as a way to practice my photography every day. Little did I know this was going to become a total obsession and here I am now doing full time flower photography and enjoying every second of it!
For a while my go to lens was the the Lensbaby Velvet 56. I fell in love with the bokeh I was able to achieve with it but then, almost two years ago, I discovered freelensing and I never went back!
So I’m going to be focusing on how I achieve bokeh with freelensing. If freelensing is not for you, I always advise to use a Lensbaby or vintage lens instead.
MY GEAR
First off, let me tell you about my gear (the question I get the most).. I shoot with a Nikon d800 (which I don’t even remember how old it is LOL!) and my go to lens is a 50mm 1.8 manual lens that cost me around $50 used. The thing with a manual lens is that you can set the aperture IN the lens and this is important for freelensing, at least with Nikon.
If you have seen my flower photography, you can see that bokeh is present about 99.9% of the time.
WHY BOKEH?
For me bokeh is one of the most important elements in my pictures. In my case, bokeh helps me to create depth which is important for the scene I want to create. When I’m shooting I look for two types of bokeh, the one created by the back light and the one created by other elements, like artificial light or light bouncing off surfaces.
bokeh from backlight
Bokeh from light bouncing on leaves
Bokeh from light bouncing on leaves
Bokeh from light bouncing on a wall
My bokeh is always created in camera and I will explain next how I do it. You will be amazed on how simple my process is.
LOOK FOR THE LIGHT
As I mentioned before, my favorite light is golden/sunset back light, so I always shoot just before sunset up until the light is almost gone. Sometimes the best light is just after the sun has set!
As an exercise I suggest going around your home during sunset and finding the best spot where you get that beautiful light. This will change throughout the year as the sun moves. You can even do this from a window if going outside is not an option.
I already have my favorite spot just outside my front door where I take most of my pictures. I position my subject against the light that is coming from behind some trees in the back.
When that light leaks through trees or bushes in the distance it creates the most beautiful bokeh.
POSITIONING YOUR SUBJECT
Here is an example of how I position my subject so I can see that beautiful bokeh when I get really close. You can see the little circles of light already at the top of the frame, which are created by the spaces between the branches of that tree in the back. My subject is a good 20 feet from the back trees.
Here’s the final shot when I move closer and use the freelensing technique..
A couple more examples of how I use that same light. You can see more clear the two lamps in the back and how I integrate them to the final image. In my post processing I always like to add warmth to give it a more golden light feel.
EXTRA TIP
If you don’t have access to sunset light there is a way to “create it” using artificial light from your own home.
Set your subject close to a window and turn on the lights inside:
Position yourself at your subject’s level and get very close to it. Through the viewfinder find the best composition where you can see the lights inside becoming a beautiful backlight bokeh. Play around and have fun!
I hope this was useful! You can see more of my work on Instagram at @Lucy.Ketchum
Thank you!