What is Bokeh photography?
DIYPhotography.net did a great job of describing bokeh as

…an adaptation from a a Japanese word meaning blur. In photography this term is used to describe the quality of the areas in the picture which are not in focus.

How to make a bokeh photo
To describe it is easy. To pull it off might take a little practice. There’s much more detail in the article I linked to above, but here are some basics.

What you need:
1. A camera with a manually adjustable aperture setting (most DSLRs will do)
2. Black construction paper
3. Uniquely shaped hole punch
4. Pencil or pen
5. Scissors
6. Tape

Here’s the heart shape hole punch I found at a craft store. It was about $6, I think, and a manly shade of pink. The website has a few other choices, as well.

What to do:
1. Place your camera lens on the construction paper and trace it with your pen or pencil.
2. Cut out the circle (A), but cut it so that it has three or four little tabs (B) on it.
3. Cut a strip of construction paper (C) that is just longer than the circumference of the circle. If you’re unsure, just cut it long enough that it can wrap all the way around your lens and the ends overlap.
4. Wrap the strip (C) around the outer end of your lens and tape the end of the paper to the piece it’s overlapping.
5. Using your hole punch, punch a hole in the center of the circle of paper (A).
6. Hold the circle (A) to the strip (C) and fold over and tape the tabs (B) to the strip (A). to complete a DIY Bokeh lens hood.
7. Adjust the aperture to its lowest setting.

You should now be ready to make some pretty cool photos. It seems to work best with lots of smaller lights. Bust out that strand of Christmas lights and start shooting.

My semi-successful attempt
Using a borrowed camera (I still haven’t bought a DSLR for myself), I attempted to create my own Bokeh mask with an Exacto knife and ever-waning patience. The outcome, I’m sure, would have been more favorable if I had used the hole punch.

Other fun things to try
Contre-jour
French for ‘against daylight’, refers to photographs taken when the camera is pointing directly toward the source of light. An alternative term is backlighting.

Digiscoping
A method of obtaining photos using a digital camera through a spotting scope, telescope or, less often, binoculars.

Try your own techniques and post links to your results in the comments. I’d love to see them.

Related posts:

1. CES – Unauthorized early photos
2. Chinavasion’s Zoom Video Camera Gets in Close
3. Weekly Bookmarks – 10.04.2009
4. Sony DSC-P41 Camera Repair 101