“Bokeh: the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens. ” In my classroom, that particular lens is the 50mm F1.8 lens, otherwise known as the nifty fifty. (Which according to an Fstoppers article from 2022, is “overrated.” ). My students are learning about aperture and using these lenses help us demonstrate how aperture affects the background of your images when you focus on something in the foreground. It’s also a great opportunity for me to bust out the twinkle lights and let them play with manual focus.

At a really low number aperture, like F1.8 for example, the objects out of focus turn into what I like to call “bubbles of light.” Depending on how out of focus you are, these bubbles can be larger or smaller in the image.

Since we were playing in the dark, a lot of my students discovered, completely by accident, the joys of blurring their images and began experimenting with creating blur on purpose. I love when they get excited about something they’ve discovered and want to share it with me and their classmates.

Another happy accident happened for me when I was creating images to use as examples for class:

As I was making images, the extension cord for my string lights ended up being in the frame which made it look like my light bubbles were cut into semi-circles. I love the effect and I feel like that’s a technique I’d like to play with more someday.

For these images, editing can make a big difference and I’m always encouraging my students to play around with different styles so they can get a feel for what they like. A little bit of contrast and a bump in vibrance or saturation can do a lot for these shots. Even going a little more heavy handed and completely changing the hues can change up the look and feel substantially.

This was all very fun and exciting for them, but when I showed them how they could change the shape of the light bubbles in their pictures (without using Photoshop) it took their interest to the next level. By placing a black piece of cardstock with a shape cut out that they could shoot through, the bubbles of light miraculously transformed into that shape.

A few years ago, I commissioned my daughter to make me a classroom set of shapes that we could use for this assignment each semester. I have hearts, leaves, stars, butterflies, triangles and every other small shape you might imagine. It’s been fun to show them how to take more control of their cameras and expand their creativity using simple props.

Have you ever tried this technique? If not, Christmas lights are not too far away and just happen to be a perfect opportunity to play. Out of focus (on purpose) – Angie