Tutorial: DIY Shaped Bokeh

Lin Osborne inspired composition of bokeh experiments

Here's a fun (and cheap!) diy shaped bokeh tutorial to make your picture making a little bit more creative and bring a smile to your face. It's easy to do as long as you have a digital SLR and some lights that will create cute imagery for presents, cards or even a quick alternative to a light painting lesson.

So, how do you do it? Follow these simple steps... 

step one: For this tutorial you will need a pair of scissors, cutting knife, pencil, rubber bands and some black card. step two: Draw around your lens cap with a pencil onto your black card to create a circle. Black card is best because it blocks the light, but paper will do! step three: Draw some 'wing tabs' on to your circle and make sure they are about an inch long. step four: Cut out your bokeh template. This will be attached to your camera lens later on in this tutorial.

step 5: It is now time to draw your bokeh shape - yay! I chose a heart shape for mine. Draw your shape in the centre of your circle template to ensure it is in the middle of your lens. Make sure it is no bigger than a 5p otherwise you will let to much light in. step 6: Cut out your shape with the cutting knife - make it as accurate as you can as this shape will come out in your photographs. step 7: Attach your bokeh template to your camera by placing it over your lens and attaching the flaps with rubber bands to make it light tight. You are now ready to take your picture!

For your pictures to come out well it is best to use a tripod to keep your camera as still as possible. Haven't got one? Don't worry you can easily make your own by using books or cushions! Now, change your lens to manual focus and switch your camera to 'aperture priority' mode. For your shaped bokeh to come out well you need your aperture to be on the lowest possible - ideally f/1.8. Make sure the lights your snapping aren't in focus and take your picture...

Ta da!

I did my shaped bokeh photographs at f/2.8 and although it wasn't as out of focus as I liked, the shapes still came out well! You can see some experimentations of my first attempts that I compiled into a Lin Osborne inspired image here. I now want to invest in a 50mm lens for my camera so I can create lovely lit images like this. You can also create some digital bokeh effect images by following this simple tutorial here. 

Get snapping - Kirsty ❤