Bokeh
For those of you who don't know what bokeh is, it's when you have an out of focus background in your picture. To achieve this, you need to have a very fast lens with an aperture of at least f/2.8. Most photographers use an ideal aperture of either f/1.8 or f/1.4. These apertures allow your camera to shoot wide open and give you the bokeh look. If by chance you cannot find a lens with a big aperture, you can simply set your subject further away from the background and use a smaller aperture of f/8. This means that you can step closer to your subject to get the desired amount of bokeh. You should do this even if you have the correct lens depending on how much, or how big, you want your bokeh to be. Using a backlight on your subject will create a bokeh that is more pleasing to the eye.
Bokeh can be useful for pictures that are brightly lit or have a not-so-fancy background. Since the background is out of focus, it takes the attention off of it and onto the subject.
Bokeh can be useful for pictures that are brightly lit or have a not-so-fancy background. Since the background is out of focus, it takes the attention off of it and onto the subject.
Camera Types
Film cameras come in many types of forms. The easiest film camera to use is the disposable camera. You can find these at your local drugstore or even Walmart. They are very inexpensive and you don't have to adjust any manual settings because there are none. If you like pictures that have a vintage look, you might want to try a Polaroid. Most people think of the SX-70 when someone mentions a Polaroid, but Polaroid has made (and still makes) many different types of cameras. Personally, my favorite is the 330 Land Camera. It's a bit challenging to use at first because it's a rangefinder, but you can get used to it fairly quick. For those of you who like to challenge yourself, SLR's would be a good choice for you. Most of these cameras are completely manual but over the years, brands such as Canon and Nikon have made film cameras that have settings where the camera adjusts everything for you. When I shoot film, my favorite cameras to use are Pentax cameras. My pictures have always turned out great with these cameras. The last type of camera I will talk about today is the medium format camera. I can tell you now that people on a budget won't like this because the film is expensive to buy and expensive to process, but the picture quality is amazing. I haven't used one myself but all of the pictures I have seen that were medium format were very sharp and looked digital. I suggest that any photographer should at least try out medium format.
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