Simple set up: a candle and christmas wreath with lights 6 feet behind in the background and a wide aperture focusing on the foreground, throwing the lights out of focus and creating what I believe is bokeh.
I chose the circle of lights type of bokeh instead of just a blurry background in shallow dof.
I think the bokeh used in the composition enhances the image to send the message of widespread sadness after the tsunami catastrophe in Asia.
Shot in raw mode.
Post processing: levels, curve, color adjustment. I blurred the background a little bit and applied selective sharpening on the wick and the flame. I saturated the yellow tone for warmth. Ran through Neat Image, cropped, resized, border.
Canon 50mm prime lens.
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Place: 34 out of 241 Avg (all users): 6.0442 Avg (commenters): 7.1818 Avg (participants): 5.6410 Avg (non-participants): 6.4771 Views since voting: 1821 Views during voting: 381 Votes: 226 Comments: 14 Favorites: 3 (view)
i'm so glad i took a look at your portfolio. really enjoying your work. i love the way the detail in the wick makes the one candle look kind of lonely despite all its company in the background.
this is an interesting image. reminds me of a 60's poster/album cover. excellent focus. this image almost looks like an animated crowd watching the flame perform. interesting choice of colors for the final presentation. as far as bokeh goes, you have to answer for yourself as to whether or not you intended the hard edged circles. nice work. good luck.
That's definitely bokeh. Now, is it good or bad? Good in that it's actually there and not just shallow dof, and it makes for a very interesting photo. Bad in a sense that the bokeh is actually more interesting and eye catching than the subject. I won't vote you low however, but do you know what I mean? It's not enhancing, but overpowering in a way. Maybe if the candle came up a bit more with a bit of light on it..maybe at least a full third of the photo would help to emphasize the subject a bit more, then the bokeh would be more of a compliment. But at least it's THERE.
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