The bokeh effect is a style of capturing out-of-focus lights in the background of shots. When you watch a video and see those soft light orbs blooming in the background—that’s the bokeh effect. Bokeh is a common camera trick that looks dazzling, but if you don’t know how to pull it off properly, you can miss out on the brilliant appearance it brings to videos. Don’t worry; this guide isn’t to scare you away from the titular lighting effect. Instead, the guide below will show you how to perfectly achieve the bokeh effect in your video with ease.
Wide Aperture
When you’re planning your lighting for a production, you want to consider how your camera can control the light. The key to achieving the digital camera and film bokeh effect in-camera is by shooting with a wide aperture. As many professionals know, the lower your F-stop, the wider your aperture. Likewise, the wider your aperture is, the more light enters the camera, resulting in a shallower depth of field. Capitalizing on this video bokeh background is a balancing act, but after your first attempt, it will feel straightforward. Knowing how F-stop and aperture levels impact your footage is essential for any video production, whether you’re trying to create a bokeh effect in your video or not.
Subject Location
Learning how to achieve this effect in a video requires understanding how close your subject should be to the background. For creating shallow depth of field and capturing stunning bokeh, pull your subject away from the background. By positioning the subject close to the camera, you can focus on bringing details out in the foreground while the background softens, creating the bokeh effect. A camera tripod can be helpful here for creating stability and ensuring the distance from subject to camera remains constant. Consistency is important in videography, so beyond thinking about this technique, be sure you’re thinking about whether or not you need the effect to remain for an extended period. Bokeh can do a lot to improve a scene, but being consistent from one shot to the next is the most important factor.
Post Bokeh
You can capture these amazing effects in-camera with a skillful eye and professional videography equipment. Additionally, if you realize the shot needs such an effect during post-production, finding a solution is easier than you might realize. Various video editing software options such as Filmora give you the tools for optimizing video images for bokeh. Thanks to video editing software featuring different effects tools, you can find a quick solution if you fail to achieve the bokeh aesthetic on set.
There are lots of easy ways to make video footage look more cinematic. Check out more of our blogs at Ikan to learn how.