Bokeh-licious

82mm f/0.77 equivalent

No, I have not bought a new lens. But I learnt a new skill. A method so awesome I have to applaud its pioneer – Ryan Brenizer. He calls this the bokehrama, but people coined it the Brenizer method. Either way, I’ve been trying it out for a number of times and am now ready to talk more about it.

60mm f/0.82 equivalent

Think of it as a panorama. Just that it is shot using telephoto and at the widest aperture to achieve as shallow a DOF as possible. Then stitch them up so you get more angle of view. Easy? You bet!

32mm f/0.72 equivalent

Just as you slow down and carefully compose a landscape shot, you have to do the same here too. But it is a lot harder composing a panorama, as you only have a vague idea where you should end. The problem is worsened by the fact that your model won’t be able to hold still for very long, so you can’t just take your time and shoot the whole view in front of you. The key is to practice a lot, and don’t be discouraged if only a few shots (or partial composition) is usable. It also helps if you can find a very helpful model =)

72mm f/1.2 equivalent

One important thing to take note is not to over-do it. Like HDR, things start to look really absurd when you go over the board.

29mm f/0.54 equivalent

Ryan Brenizer recommends shooting in small jpegs to conserve space and processing power during PP. If you choose that route, you would have to manually set your white balance to ensure consistency. The tone curve applied to every jpeg is not consistent too.. depending on your camera. I chose to shoot RAW though, and while it severely restricts the number of bokeh-ramas I can create, I’m glad I have the latitude in PP.

100mm f/0.94 equivalent

Be patient in stitching the pictures. Most of the time the panorama generated will not be flawless, and you’ll need to do some manual blending. It’s time to revise your Photoshop skills~
Finally, try out the Brenizer calculator to find out what lens you’ve “created”! Enjoy =)