LocalNavy433 Photography

Hello, how the hell are you? If this is your first time here, thanks for stopping by. In this blog, we are going to go over how to achieve Bokeh or background blur with a kit lens. The kit lens that you get when you first start out is most likely going to be the 18-55 f3.5-5.6. This lens is a general-purpose lens and it allows you so much variety in the types of images you can shoot. The one thing that you see is all those images where the subject is in focus and the background is blurry. What is background blur or bokeh? How do I get my images to have bokeh? Do I need to buy another lens to achieve bokeh?

Subject isolation and why it’s important to achieve Bokeh

When you are first starting out with your photography, you see certain images online that have a very beautiful background blur. Then you ask yourself, “How do I get that look in my images?” That is when you start your research and you find out it’s called Bokeh/Background blur. You see the images that you are looking at use a technique called subject isolation where the focus is on the subject and the background is blurred out. This is called bokeh in the photography industry. We use lenses with a very low f-stop to really isolate that subject.

Achieve bokeh with a kit lens with distance from background

This is the point that you realize that to really get that bokeh in your images, you think that you need to buy another lens to achieve this. What if I told you there is a technique using a kit lens that will get you bokeh without buying another lens? This is using distance from the background to achieve bokeh. The more distance you put between your subject and your lens, the more you will see that blur.

When you are at f/ 5.6, the background blur is going to be hard to achieve when the subject is really close to the background. This means that you will need to move them some distance from the background. This is also the point that you need to be using the long end of the lens. So at 55mm and keeping the distance from the subject to the background will automatically get you that compression and blur that you wanted. For many years, I used the kit lens for my portraits until I could afford buying a new lens for portraits.

Do you actually need a specific lens for bokeh?

To answer this is as simple as saying no. The reason is as simple as learning the technique that I referenced above. The want for a newer lens is just that a want. The look that you are after is easily achieved with distance. Now it also depends on the f-stop, and the lower the f-stop, the more blur you are going to be getting with your images. Now the nifty 50 is a cheap lens that is very sharp and can be bought for less than $100 USD for just about any brand that you shoot on. This lens will get you that dreamy look to your images. This is important but not truly needed for getting that look to your images. The kit lens is designed to give you a starting point for getting a wide variety of images.

The power of using the kit lens

Everybody puts the kit lens into a category of crap, shit, not worth it, and a piece of junk. This is true and it is not true. Yes, the lens is not as sharp as other lenses out there. Yes, it is mostly made of plastic and not weather-sealed. Then you have the fact that there is a variable aperture, which classifies the lens as no good. The whole reason they give you a lens like this is as simple as they want you to practice, or so I think that is what it’s for. The range of the lens from 18mm to 55mm gives you the perfect walk-around focal range. This gives you the best chance of learning to get the most out of the lens. Everyone wants you to upgrade that lens, and I say keep it, use it, learn it to the best of your ability. That is where the power of this lens sits. You see, if you can master that lens when you actually get the better lens, your images are going to look so good.

Conclusion for creating Bokeh

Creating bokeh is easy once you learn distance with a kit lens. You don’t really need to buy more gear to get the most out of what you already have. The more that you practice with your gear, the better the images are going to look when you buy that newer lens. Just keep in mind that for over a hundred years, people have been making photographs with gear that is worse than what we have today. So just practice your craft and totally take control of your images. Enjoy, y’all

Intro

What is Bokeh?

Explain in simple terms: background blur, subject isolation.

Why it matters: makes photos look more professional.

Myth Busting

Most beginners think you need an expensive lens.

Truth: you can achieve bokeh with your kit lens using technique.

The Technique: Distance Matters

Step 1: Put your subject far from the background.

Step 2: Use the long end of your kit lens (55mm).

Step 3: Shoot as wide open as possible (f/5.6).

Bonus tip: Get closer to your subject for even more blur.

Do You Actually Need a Special Lens?

Answer: No.

Yes, lenses like the nifty 50 make it easier.

But you don’t need it to start getting great results.

The Power of the Kit Lens

Why it’s underrated.

Great for learning and improving technique.

If you master the kit lens, your skills transfer to better lenses later.

Conclusion / Motivation

Practice over gear.

Even pros used gear worse than today’s kit lenses decades ago.

“Keep practicing, keep shooting, and take control of your images.”

Outro

Ask viewers to like, comment, and subscribe.

Encourage them to share their own kit lens shots.