WARM UP THE BLUE HOUR
Photography week|June 16, 2022
Jason Parnell-Brookes shows you how draping a subject in fairy lights and shooting in the blue hour can bring your portraits into a magical new light
WARM UP THE BLUE HOUR

You can create magical-looking portraits by simply dangling fairy lights in front of or around your subject and trailing them up towards your lens to produce dreamy bokeh - circles of out-of-focus highlights that take on the shape of the lens aperture.

In this project we're going to combine the out-of-focus fairy lights with glowing city lights in the background to accentuate the dreamlike effect. To capture the city lights we had to wait until after sunset and shoot in the 'blue hour! This is the period before it gets truly dark, when the landscape is bathed in a cool, blue light. The combination of the blue light of the sky, the background street lights and the orange glow of the fairy lights will complement each other wonderfully in the final shot.

You'll need a lens with a wide maximum aperture - we used a 50mm f/1.4 but any lens with an aperture of f/4 or wider will work fine; you can use a narrower aperture, but the bokeh won't appear as large in the frame.

1 CHOOSE YOUR LENS

A lens with a wide aperture and a longer focal length will produce a shallow depth of field; this means more of the scene in front of and behind the point of focus will be out of focus, which in turn means you'll get more prominent bokeh effects in the foreground. Here you can see the difference between shots taken at f/2.8 and f/1.4, with an f/1.4 aperture creating bigger circles of bokeh.

2 CHOOSE YOUR LIGHTS

この記事は Photography week の June 16, 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Photography week の June 16, 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKのその他の記事すべて表示
CALIBRATE YOUR COLOURS
Photography week

CALIBRATE YOUR COLOURS

James Paterson reveals how he captures stunningly colourful sunsets by using this secret weapon

time-read
1 min  |
September 26, 2024
ABSTRACT PORTRAITS
Photography week

ABSTRACT PORTRAITS

Mike Harris shows you how to use slow shutter speeds and multiple exposures to capture a series of motion-blur portraits

time-read
3 分  |
September 26, 2024
BREATHTAKNG IMAGES FROM ABOVE AND BELOW THE WAVES
Photography week

BREATHTAKNG IMAGES FROM ABOVE AND BELOW THE WAVES

A final hit of inspiraton: Ocean Photographer of the Year reveals stunning winning photos

time-read
1 min  |
September 26, 2024
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AUTUMN
Photography week

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AUTUMN

James Abbott reveals the secrets to capturing amazing images during the most eye-catching season of the year

time-read
2 分  |
September 26, 2024
CANON UNVEILS NEW PORTABLE, FULLY-WIRELESS PHOTO PRINTER
Photography week

CANON UNVEILS NEW PORTABLE, FULLY-WIRELESS PHOTO PRINTER

The Selphy QX20 is ideal for quickly printing your smartphone snaps on the go

time-read
1 min  |
September 26, 2024
FUJINON GF120MM F4 MACRO R LM OIS WR
Photography week

FUJINON GF120MM F4 MACRO R LM OIS WR

This powerful medium-format lens is ideally suited to extreme close-ups

time-read
4 分  |
September 12, 2024
HOW TO...CLEAN UP A SCENE WITH AI
Photography week

HOW TO...CLEAN UP A SCENE WITH AI

James Paterson shows you how the AI-powered Remove Tool can revolutionise your retouching

time-read
1 min  |
September 12, 2024
SHOOT AN '80S PORTRAIT
Photography week

SHOOT AN '80S PORTRAIT

Jason Parnell-Brookes recreates the neon look of the 1980s using torches and hollow acrylic rods

time-read
4 分  |
September 12, 2024
THE BEST MONOCHROME IMAGE OF 2024 IS A REAL CRACKER
Photography week

THE BEST MONOCHROME IMAGE OF 2024 IS A REAL CRACKER

Black and White Photo Awards announces stunning selection of winning images

time-read
1 min  |
September 12, 2024
88 TIPS FOR GREAT BABY PHOTOS
Photography week

88 TIPS FOR GREAT BABY PHOTOS

From lighting to posing and pacifying, here's how you get the perfect shot

time-read
10+ 分  |
September 12, 2024