Hello! I'm Mandy from Something Monumental. Experimenting with photography is one of my favorite things to do. I'm always trying a new editing technique or testing out a camera accessory.
Today, I'd like to show you how to create your own heart-shaped bokeh.
For those who don't know, bokeh is the area of a photograph that is out of focus. This is achieved with a shallow focus on an SLR camera. This bokeh becomes more interesting around points of light. Above, you can see some typical light bokeh on the left and my heart-shaped bokeh on the right.
This is a very simple project. Note: This works best with a large aperture lens.
1. You'll need black construction paper, scissors, and tape.
2. Cut out a small square piece of paper that will just fit over the front of your lens.
3. Push the square piece of paper down over the lens so that you can see the shape of the lens.
4. Find the center of the circle and cut out a small heart shape.
5. Place the piece of paper back over the lens and tape down. Now, you can start shooting!
Here are two more examples using the heart bokeh. The image on the left is very subtle. Do you see the single heart? In the image on the right, you can see tons of tiny hearts. You'll also notice a slight vignette.This is especially fun around the holidays with all of the Christmas lights. Hope you enjoyed this! Come over and visit me anytime!
-Mandy
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HUGE thank you to Mandy for this incredible DIY. I absolutely can't wait to try it and try about a bajillion different shapes. Cat shape, anyone? Mmm-hmmm. Be sure to stop by Mandy's blog. She is amazing!
Those candy jars are so cute! Great idea. xo, rv
http://aneclecticheap.blogspot.com/
This is so cool! Makes me wish I had an SLR camera...
This is really neat! Is there any chance it could work on a compact camera?
ooh i have been dying to try this!!!
xxoo http://www.paperplanesandmaryjanes.com
That's so cool!! I am so going to try this!
I did this a while ago (of course I made it much harder than it needed to be!) and it was so fun! Can't wait to try it this (much easier) way!
Great tutorial!
♥ sécia http://www.petiteinsanities.blogspot.com
I've been wanting to do a project like this - never thought it would be so simple! Thanks so much for sharing. Love the photos you shared!
Thanks! I think I will totally do this for my brothers wedding.
Such a great idea! The photos look so beautiful with this effect!
Mandy is such a stellar girl, so happy to see this feature and get the goods on bokeh transformations!!! i love how she never gets boxed into the same-o, same-o shiz and reaches new levels of creative mastery...plus shares the new-found knowledge with us all. great post and lesson! thanks for this. those snaps are a big ol' yahweh!!!
This is great! I'm just now starting to learn about photography. I had no clue about fun little DIY things like this. Can't wait to give it a try!
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This looks like so much fun! I'm definitely going to have to try it