Add Shaped Bokeh to Your Photos! [DIY With CC]

By Emma

Photography is a great way to tell a story, and it even has the power to replace words. When I discovered that I could major in Photojournalism, everything came into focus for me (ok, that was a really horrible pun, but I honestly didn’t intend for it!). The tough thing is that photography requires a lot of patience, and I suffer from an extreme patience deficiency… But bear with me! I know we can get through this project together!

I have found a way, through Pinterest of course, to create out-of-the-box photographs that will be sure to impress! Sure, everyone loves a good portrait or landscape, but why not venture out a little? This is for all our readers who love photography!

What you’ll need:

• A camera with manual focus
• Dark colored card stock
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Shaped hole punch
• Rubber band
• Tripod

What to do:

Take your card stock and trace the outline of your lens. It’s best to use a dark color because it’s best to blocks the light, but if you’re shooting at night, white is ok. Draw three 1-inch long  ”wings” and cut the entire thing out.

In the center of your outline, draw any shape your heart desires (in the example from The Spohrs Are Multiplying, she literally drew a heart) or you can choose to use your shaped hole punch. This is the shape that your bokeh will be – make sure it is no larger than a dime. If you drew your own shape, be sure to cut it out precisely!

Next, place the paper over your lens and use the rubber band to tie down the wings. And there you have it!

In the example, she then continued to put her camera on a tripod, switched her focus to manual, and set her f-stop to 1.8. Just a hint on how to get good results! You go Glen Coco!

[Thanks to The Spohrs Are Multiplying for the idea and the camera photo!]