A fast lens, large aperture, and some healthy dose of creativity are what you're going to need for this contest. Because this contest is all about bokeh!

Bokeh comes from the Japanese word "boke", which means "blur". In photography, this means that your subject should be focused and the background should be blurry. The more light that your camera lens lets in, the blurrier the background can be.

You can achieve this effect with most modern lenses, without the need for post-processing. The bokeh effect itself cannot be created by post-processing an image. It has to be done through your camera.

Bokeh is often used for portrait photography, but you can use it with any photo you like. 'Swirl bokeh' or other variants are also allowed in this contest.

If you don't know what bokeh is yet, have a look at this explanation video.

Here are some tutorials to get you started:

Good luck!

PS: It's very important to vote on every entry, the more votes we get, the more accurate the rankings will be. Also, when you see something on someone's entry that can be improved, let them know. That way, we can learn new skills from each other!

Staaan avatarLevel 20
Staaan

If you have any questions/suggestions/comments about this contest, reply to this comment!

Good luck! 👇

11 reactions
Vibeke avatarLevel 12Gold awardGold award
1 out of 43
70%

Waxeye on a frosty morning. created by Vibeke

8 reactions
Vibeke avatarLevel 12Silver award
2 out of 43
68%

Agapanthus created by Vibeke

1/125 at f5.6 ISO 200

2 reactions
Olga.L avatarLevel 17Bronze awardSilver award
3 out of 43
68%

Bokeh Berries created by Olga.L

8 reactions
Olga.L avatarLevel 17
4 out of 43
66%

Autumnal Bokeh created by Olga.L

1 reaction
Vibeke avatarLevel 12
5 out of 43
65%

Tiny rose buds created by Vibeke

MyMindsEye avatarLevel 12
6 out of 43
64%

Fine Dining created by MyMindsEye

Vibeke avatarLevel 12
7 out of 43
62%

Magenta flowers on an autumn day. created by Vibeke

Zizounai avatarLevel 16
8 out of 43
62%

Foxglove created by Zizounai

2 reactions
Olga.L avatarLevel 17
9 out of 43
62%

Bokeh in Monochrome created by Olga.L

1 reaction
kyricom avatarLevel 13
10 out of 43
61%

Fly By created by kyricom

A Dragonfly coming right at us.

3 reactions
Rajat avatarLevel 5
11 out of 43
61%

Garden Spider created by Rajat

MacroShot of Garden Spider Shot on iphone+lens

Olga.L avatarLevel 17
12 out of 43
61%

Awash in Yellow created by Olga.L

Olga.L avatarLevel 17
13 out of 43
61%

Lotus Haven created by Olga.L

Zizounai avatarLevel 16
14 out of 43
60%

Cotinis nitida, the Green June Beetle created by Zizounai

Skyangel avatarLevel 15
15 out of 43
60%

Botanical Bokeh created by Skyangel

Butterfly captured at the Botanical gardens.

Loren avatarLevel 5
16 out of 43
60%

Wild Red Fruit created by Loren

Loren avatarLevel 5
17 out of 43
60%

Hanging Droplets created by Loren

hanging droplets

kyricom avatarLevel 13
18 out of 43
59%

Cornflower created by kyricom

Starting to get old as autumn approaches.

2 reactions
Wayne-Cheah avatarLevel 12
19 out of 43
58%

Fountain of Youth created by Wayne-Cheah

3 reactions
Merlin avatarLevel 16
20 out of 43
58%

LOTUS seed created by Merlin

ISO125 --- 1/320 sec. --- 46,2 mm --- NO post-processed Bokeh 😉 Natural shot: NO modern lense 😉

1 reaction
Vibeke avatarLevel 12
21 out of 43
58%

Unspecified specimen created by Vibeke

Macro, f8 at 1/350s ISO 100

Zizounai avatarLevel 16
22 out of 43
58%

Trollius europaeus created by Zizounai

Also called globeflower...

2 reactions
MyMindsEye avatarLevel 12
23 out of 43
57%

Amethyst created by MyMindsEye

Zizounai avatarLevel 16
24 out of 43
57%

A butterfly told me... created by Zizounai

Merlin avatarLevel 16
25 out of 43
56%

Bud created by Merlin

ISO125 --- 1/640sec --- 42,4 mm --- NO post-processed Bokeh 😉 Natural shot: NO modern lense 😉

1 reaction
kyricom avatarLevel 13
26 out of 43
56%

Needs Practice Casting created by kyricom

grasshopper1 avatarLevel 11
27 out of 43
55%

Bathroom Orchids created by grasshopper1

Taken with a Blackberry DTEK60 phone.

aipics avatarLevel 8
28 out of 43
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Bugs created by aipics

Wayne-Cheah avatarLevel 12
29 out of 43
53%

White Hibiscus created by Wayne-Cheah

MyMindsEye avatarLevel 12
30 out of 43
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While you were out..... created by MyMindsEye

Web in the grass

Zizounai avatarLevel 16
31 out of 43
52%

Pear tree blossom created by Zizounai

Rajat avatarLevel 5
32 out of 43
52%

Laughing Dove created by Rajat

Nikond3300 70-300mm Birds_photography

1 reaction
Rajat avatarLevel 5
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Red-vented Bulbul created by Rajat

Nikond3300 70-300mm Birds_photography

1 reaction
kyricom avatarLevel 13
34 out of 43
51%

Bokeh Bird created by kyricom

1 reaction
MyMindsEye avatarLevel 12
35 out of 43
50%

The Monarch created by MyMindsEye

grasshopper1 avatarLevel 11Heart award
36 out of 43
48%

Tag Your It created by grasshopper1

aipics avatarLevel 8
37 out of 43
48%

Damselfly created by aipics

aipics avatarLevel 8
38 out of 43
48%

Hold up tight created by aipics

aipics avatarLevel 8
39 out of 43
48%

Spider created by aipics

Wayne-Cheah avatarLevel 12
40 out of 43
45%

Colors of the Night created by Wayne-Cheah

grasshopper1 avatarLevel 11
41 out of 43
42%

Backyard Lizard created by grasshopper1

Taking under a tree on a bright sunny day.

aipics avatarLevel 8
42 out of 43
42%

Dragonfly created by aipics

1 reaction
grasshopper1 avatarLevel 11
43 out of 43
40%

Sleeping Beauty created by grasshopper1

I woke her up from her chicken nap.

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