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Photography vocabulary · Lenses & Focus

Bokeh

Meaning in photography, with examples

/ˈboʊkeɪ/nounCommon term

In photography, bokeh means: The look and quality of the out-of-focus areas in a photo, especially a soft background and round, blurry points of light.

In Turkish: bokeh, arka plan flusu

How it is used

From a Japanese word for blur. Strictly it describes the quality of the blur (smooth, busy, creamy), not the amount, but many people use it to mean a blurred background. Lenses are praised for their bokeh.

Example sentences

  1. The fairy lights in the background turned into lovely bokeh at f/1.8.

  2. This 85 mm is famous for its creamy bokeh.

Common collocations

  • creamy bokeh
  • smooth bokeh
  • busy bokeh
  • bokeh balls
  • depth of fieldThe area in front of and behind the point of focus that still looks acceptably sharp. It can be shallow, with a blurry background, or deep, with almost everything sharp.
  • apertureThe adjustable opening inside a lens that lets light through. A wider opening lets in more light and gives a shallower depth of field.
  • prime lensA lens with one fixed focal length, such as 35 mm or 50 mm, that cannot zoom. Primes are often sharper and have wider apertures than zooms.
  • focusThe point or area of a photo that is sharp. Something is in focus when it looks sharp and out of focus when it looks blurred.

More terms: Lenses & Focus

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