See. Do. Learn. Repeat. (Front Bokeh)

by Sean Setters

I often draw inspiration from the educational videos we post to the site, and one video in particular posted last week intrigued me. In the video, Mark Wallace used a small string of LED lights held in front of the camera lens to create an interesting bokeh effect for portraiture.

I love it when inexpensive tools can be used to create unique imagery, and the LED lights Mark used for his video cost less than most memory cards. Wanting a little variety, I purchased a set of 4 strings (2 warm white/2 purple) which are powered via AA batteries.

After the LED lights arrived, I enlisted my neighbor to sit for a short portrait session. Being a kindergartener, I knew I would only have a few short minutes of optimal attention span for creating the portrait I had in mind.

The Setup

Intending to emphasize the foreground blur, I used a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM affixed to a tripod mounted EOS 5D Mark III.

For the lighting on the subject, I used a radio-triggered Canon Speedlite 580EX with a LumiQuest SoftBox LTp (now discontinued, but available here) camera right. For the background, I used an Impact 5 x 7' Black/White Collapsible Background held up by a Lastolite Magnetic Background Support atop a Matthews Maxi Kit Steel Stand. After a couple of test shots, I decided to add a white reflector (foam core board) camera left to fill in some of the shadow area on the other side of the subject.

Camera settings for the shot were f/1.4, 1/160 second, ISO 100.

Things I Learned

• In order to maximize the shooting time with the subject, I used a super clamp to attach the LED lights to an extension arm (affixed to another light stand) and draped the lights in front of the lens. The upside to this particular setup was that it allowed me to specifically and easily position the subject within an area of the frame that was unobstructed by the LED lights. The downside, of course, is that there was no variation in lighting between shots. If working with a subject with a longer attention span, simply holding the lights in front of the lens and embracing the significantly varied results would likely work well.
• When photographing a child of this age, having a medium height wooden stool is a great posing aid. Being positioned higher-up than normal helps instill a sense of importance that helps keep young subjects in a good mood.
• My initial thought was that the lights would need to be positioned very close to the front of the lens for an optimal effect. However, that didn't necessarily prove to be the case with the 85mm lens I was using. When positioned very close to the end of the lens, the LED lights tended to be too large and distracting for my taste. For the shot above, the lights were positioned about 12" from the end of the lens, and as you can see, the out-of-focus LED lights are still quite large in the frame with the f/1.4 aperture in use.
• I thought I would have to use a longer shutter speed or a higher ISO to get a bright exposure from the LED lights, but their proximity to the camera and the wide aperture being used meant that I could use a typical studio shutter speed of 1/160 second at ISO 100 for the exposure.

Conclusion

For a relatively small investment, a small strand of LED lights will likely be worth picking up for anyone interested in augmenting their creative portraiture capabilities. The lights are small, relatively easy to pack (for nighttime on-location shoots?) and utilize a power source that many photographers have in abundance – [rechargeable] AA batteries.

Give this fun and easy technique a try!