Beauty of the blur
Revealing the aesthetic world of Bokeh photography where ‘Out of Focus’ blurs create spellbinding underwater images
With just the eyes in focus this anemone shrimp makes a wonderful bokeh image
Having photographed subjects using different techniques over the past 7 years, there were images in my mind that I wanted to recreate underwater. Images that looked artistic and beautiful but had a very shallow depth of field and blurred backgrounds. The technique of ‘Bokeh’ was the natural choice as it ticked all the boxes.
Pronounced as ‘Bo-Kay’ or ‘Boke’ the term comes from Japan and means blur or haze referring to the blurred quality in Photographs. It is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in an out-of-focus part of an image by a lens. When the blurred background has a high aesthetic quality to it the photograph is said to have achieved “good bokeh”. Even for terrestrial images, isolating a subject is very important, with amateurs and pros going to great lengths to achieve this. Underwater though, things are a little different than on land, as one uses lights or strobes for most Bokeh photography. Most photographers when starting out try to get the entire subject and the background in focus. Compact cameras, which have a large depth of field because of their smaller sensors, are very good at this.However, as one’s photography progresses, photographers wish to creatively isolate the subject by getting a blurred background. As mentioned earlier, if the image has a pleasingly blurred background, it is said that the photo has good "Bokeh". Let us get one thing clear though. Getting black backgrounds in isolating the subject is not what we are looking for in good underwater Bokeh. That is not considered Bokeh and is a completely different technique.
f11 f5 f2.8
Aperture f11 distinctly shows the two bars behind the piggy. f5 blurs the bars behind & f2.8 completely blurs the bars behind
The easiest way you can try this at home is to take a small artefact and place it on a table or raised platform. Now you need to set up the camera and ideally use a macro lens like 100 mm or similar. Light up the subject with an on-camera strobe or light or you may even use ambient light. Use a large aperture like f4, f5.6 and you can even try f2.8 (Although underwater I have found f2.8 very difficult to use and impractical as the image tends to get burnt out). Adjust your shutter speed so that it is suitable for the aperture. I have tried a similar setup in front of my balcony with two metal bars in the background. See the resultant effect on the bars with aperture at 2.8, 5 and 11. They keep getting more and more in focus as the aperture number increases. Experiment on land to understand exactly what we are trying to achieve. For underwater we will be using a similar technique as well.
Nudibranch, all images @ ISO 100, with a 60mm Macro lens
1/60 @ f22 , 1/60 @ f 10, 1/60 @ f7.1,
Bumblebee Shrimp, all images @ ISO 100, with a 100 mm macro lens
1/200@f32 1/200 @f9 1/200 @f7.1
Bokeh image of Shrimp on bubble coral 1/125 @ f5 Canon 60mm Macro lens ISO 100
So, keep the above in mind when shooting these kinds of images to make sure you have the correct part of the subject in focus. I regularly use a Nauticam super macro convertor (SMC) and also at times add the super macro multiplier. Do note however that the distance from the subject is very minimal and it is best used with stationary or slow moving subjects or ones that are comfortable and stay in one place.
Empty negative space creates a beautiful bokeh image of a boxer crab
Here are some tips for achieving good Underwater Bokeh:
1) Aperture: Larger the opening of the lens (Aperture) blurrier will be the background. Each lens has its go to aperture for good Bokeh depending on the focal length of the lens. Longer the lens, easier to get good Bokeh.
2) Cameras and types of sensors: Full frame will have a shallower depth of field over an APSC sensor DSLR over a Prosumer camera over a compact one. For compact cameras try using f2.8 and use the optical zoom to the maximum. (Not the digital). Get closest to your subject possible. For a 60mm lens f 4 to 5.6 should be your starting point.
3) Depth of Field: For good Bokeh one needs a very limited or shallow depth of field and/or a lot of empty negative space.
4) Point of focus: This is also very important as the depth of field is so shallow that at times only that point may be in focus with all else blurred. I usually aim to get the eyes in focus.
5) Background: A pleasing background also makes the difference between good and average Bokeh, so choose pastel shades or colours that may compliment the subject.
6) Natural Bokeh: I have added this factor, as nowadays there are choices of magnifying wet diopters that can be used in front of the macro lens for a super macro image. When the magnification is really high you may be able to even use an aperture of f32, f28 or similar and still achieve good Bokeh. I regularly use this technique and the image itself will become the background in such situations.
7) Lighting: I usually prefer two strobes but one works just as well. You will most times end up using the strobes on minimum or low power.
8) ISO: I prefer using ISO 100 and its usually advisable to stick to ISO 100 or 200
9) Lens: A fast and dedicated macro lens with a longer focal length is best for good Bokeh.
10) Composition: Think of the image in your mind before shooting. Try use rule of thirds or golden ratio/Fibonacci sequence/golden spirals
a nauticam super macro convertor wet lens in front of a 100 mm macro, gives an extremely shallow DOF as the magnification is 2.3x, resulting in what I call ‘natural bokeh’