Answer
What is bokeh?
Bokeh is the quality of the out-of-focus blur in a photograph. Smooth, creamy bokeh comes from wide-aperture lenses with well-designed aperture blades. It is what gives "professional" portraits their separated, dreamy backgrounds.
What makes good bokeh
- Wide maximum aperture (f/1.4-f/2.8)
- Long focal length (85mm+ on full frame)
- Close subject distance
- Round, evenly lit highlights in the background
- 9-11 rounded aperture blades
Lenses known for beautiful bokeh
- Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM
- Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S
- Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Most fast primes from Voigtländer
The trade-off
Maximum-aperture primes that produce the smoothest bokeh are expensive ($1,500-3,000) and heavy. A 50mm or 85mm f/1.8 produces 90% of the bokeh quality at 25% of the cost.
More answers
- What is the best portrait lens focal length on a crop sensor?
- 85mm vs 50mm for portraits: which should you buy first?
- What is lens compression, and do long lenses really flatten faces?
- Is an f/1.2 lens worth it over f/1.8 for portraits?
- Why does bokeh look different between lenses at the same aperture?
- Pancake vs Fresnel lenses in VR headsets: what is the real difference?
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