27 October 2010

Playing with Bokeh!

After storms and wind Tuesday, today was another fantastic day outside, so I went out to the park to play.  As I was finishing up, 3 more folks with cameras, tripods and the like were headed in.  See, we understand that some time in February we're going to pay dearly for this 70+ degrees and sun in October...we'd better enjoy it now!

Here's a self portrait of sorts.


Over at Katie Lloyd Photography blog, she was kind enough to provide some ideas about how to get some good bokeh and then use it with overlays.  Well, I'm still pretty new at this whole photography business, so I thought I'd start with intentionally looking for the light sources and get base shots.  I don't have a software program on my Mac that will do overlay yet, so I may have to resort to the PC netbook to complete the second portion of the tutorial.


Picture 1: what you see in nature
Picture 2: bokeh




I may use some of these as background for Christmas cards.  I will need another image to overlay or perhaps I can use some punchs or die cut designs to make a 3D overlay.




These are all SOOC, as I am trying to see what playing with the manual settings does to the photos.


I had so much fun playing with the light and nature this afternoon.  I have lived here more than 11 years and just found this adorable little park this summer.  I credit getting my camera for that - it's made me seek out new locations to test out color, light, and shutter speed.  Also, I am going to take the same photo in all four seasons.  I'll share that later in the week.

M.E.

7 comments:

Katie said...

Those just kept getting better and better!! And such a fantastic idea to use these as a background for Christmas cards! :)

Shirley said...

Great idea to use these as backgrounds on Christmas cards. I agree with Katie. I am not at all familiar with this effect. For what purpose does one use it?

Ashley Sisk said...

I love the bokeh...I love Katie's tip...I couldn't believe I hadn't tried it before. Have fun!

Unknown said...

Looks like your bokeh is working well.

Janis said...

I have to learn about working with overlay. I know about bokeh in the background in a photo but not to overlay! Seeing things through the lens of a camera is so exciting. Yesterday I was out shooting the fall foliage in the rain, the lighting was great, didn't have to worry about being too bright with the sun! Soooo much to learn about working with a SLR camera and trying to get that perfect shot!

Kala said...

I am a huge fan of the use of light and bokeh in photography. Keep up the good work!

nanny said...

I am new to the whole process.....bokeh is a new word for me....must study it/ha
I took a nature class last week and we had a field trip that was so much fun...I learned alot now if I can just apply it.......