How to See Bokeh

In Existing Images

Look for points of light in the background. Perfect subjects for this are distant points of light at night or sometimes light shining through leaves or specular reflections in daylight.

If they all blend together nicely, that's nice bokeh. If they are perfect little circles, then that's neutral bokeh. If they are all swimmy and look little little rolled up condoms or donuts, then that's bad bokeh. 

What is Bokeh??

Bokeh describes the rendition of out-of-focus points of light.

Bokeh is different from sharpness. Sharpness is what happens at the point of best focus. Bokeh is what happens away from the point of best focus. 

 

Rule of Thirds ( composition )

The rule of thirds is one of the most basic composition guidelines in photography. The rule of thirds makes use of a natural tendency of the human eye to be more strongly drawn towards certain parts of an image.

What is the Rule of Thirds?
The rule of thirds is an imaginary tic-tac-toe board is drawn across an image to break it into nine equal squares. The four points where these lines intersect are strongest focal points. The lines themselves are the second strongest focal points.

How Do I Use It?

Composition

Composition simply means how your image is put together. The greatest subject in the world will not automatically make a great image. You have to know how (and where) to put that image on film.

Photography the Basics

Photography comes from the Greek words meaning "light writing" and first became known back in 1839 by Sir John Herschel. For many years prior to this, people had discovered ways of causing certain chemicals to change color when exposed to light but they did not discover ways of getting the images to remain permanent until later on.

Now photography is a big part of our culture, something that everyone recognizes. Most everyone has family photos lying around their house, many people take these photos on a regular basis, preserving precious memories for years to come. Even if you don't have your own camera, you have seen photos in magazines, used on billboards and advertisements and more.

What is a Camera?

Camera is a tool. No different than a wood carver's chisels. The chisels do not make finely crafted artwork, the wood carver does. It is the same way with your camera. The camera does not make the photograph, you do. Never allow yourself to feel like the camera is in control. The camera is your tool and you must use it as a tool.

Broken down to its essential elements, the camera is a box that controls the amount of light that reaches a piece of light sensitive film or other surface inside. The original cameras did not even have a glass lens. The first cameras used a tiny hole in the front of the box to allow in light and to focus the image onto the viewing surface. This is the same principle as when children punch a pinhole into a piece of paper in order to watch a solar eclipse projected through the pinhole and onto the ground.

Photography Quotations

Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.
Ansel Adams

Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.
Ansel Adams

Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment.
Ansel Adams

Definition of Photography

1. The art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces.
2. The art, practice, or occupation of taking and printing photographs.
3. A body of photographs.