Bokeh
Shoot wide open and out-of-focus points of light don't merely blur — they bloom into soft, round, glowing discs. That quality of the blur has a name borrowed from Japanese: bokeh (roughly "BOH-keh"). It's less about how much blur than how beautiful it is.
The recipe is simple: a wide aperture, a subject close to you, and small bright lights far in the background. Think fairy lights across a room, dappled sun through trees, or city lights down a street at dusk.
Focus on your near subject and let those background lights fall well out of focus — the farther away and brighter they are, the bigger and creamier the orbs.
Aperture Priority wide open (lowest f-number). Place your subject close, with small lights far behind it. Focus on the subject; the distant lights melt into glowing orbs. Twilight and night are ideal.
It counts when background points of light render as soft, round, glowing orbs rather than hard dots — while your subject stays sharp. Orbs too small or harsh? Open wider, move the lights farther back, or get closer to your subject.
The assignment
Find small points of light behind your subject — string lights, sun through leaves, distant streetlights — and turn them into soft glowing orbs.
Place your proof, unlock the next.
With a free account your shot lives on this assignment — you earn the XP, your streak grows, and the next technique opens.
Start freeNo credit card. Every lesson is free.
Already learning here? Log in