Do you see these photos of the Christmas light bokeh background and a child wonderful exposed and wonder, how did they do that???
The secret to capturing one of these images is not a fancy flash or light set up. It is…are you ready for it?? Natural light.
Hopefully your tree is by a window. If not, don’t worry. You can string lights on your headboard or a foam board if you have a different location you would prefer to use.
Set your subject in a location where the light hits them nicely to create catchlights and there are Christmas lights behind them.
Pullback for Christmas light bokeh background:
I placed my daughter at a 45 degree angle from the window so she would have nice soft shadows and still have catchlights.
Remember, if you want to capture bokeh then you need to have your aperture pretty wide open.
For this images I had my aperture at f/1.4.
Settings: ss 1/160, ISO 100, f/1.4 taken with my 50mm 1.4
This image I closed down my aperture a little to get more of her in focus. My aperture was set at f/2
Settings: ss 1/125, ISO 100, f/2.0
If you are looking to capture some photos of your kiddos/pets with a Christmas light bokeh background, then get near a window during the day and take advantage of the natural light. Don’t forget it is all about your aperture!
If you liked this post, you don’t want to miss these other Christmas posts:
* 16 Tips to Photograph Christmas morning
* 5 steps on how to photograph Christmas lights
* Tips to make your Christmas photos more than snapshots
* How to create beams of Christmas lights
* Christmas Tree Lights Photos: 5 Easy Steps
* Christmas Tree Light Bokeh
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you in advance if you decide to purchase something through the link and support Click it Up a Notch.
Thanks for the tutorial! I love your blog.
I’m glad you enjoy it!! Thank YOU!
Thank you for sharing! I am looking forward to doing some holiday photos this year with my new camera (first dslr-Nikon D7000)!
How exciting! Yay for new cameras!
How far away was your camera from your baby?
Hey Rhonda,
These photos were taken with my 50mm 1.4 so I was probably a few feet away. Maybe on the end of the blanket.
is it possible to do if the lowest you can get is 3.5?!?!
It may be possible, honestly, I haven’t tried it. But it won’t be as blurry and great looking bokeh as it would be if it was shot at f2.2 or f1.4.
Another key would be the distance between your subject and their background, right? I imagine it would be difficult to get a Christmas light bokeh if your subject was right in front of the tree unless you shot wide wide open?
Yes, distance plays a factor as well :)
I tried this last year and the baby was cute, the light was perfect. Everything was great EXCEPT I had flares from the Christmas lights all over the shot. I just read recently that it was from my filter. Im looking forward to trying again with my filter off!
Good idea!
Great article. I just purchased this lens for my bag. I’ll be setting up my Christmas tree an using your advice this year to capture my kids in front of the tree. :). You are a wonderful educator and blogger. So happy to have found your site.
Thank you so much! Have fun playing around with bokeh!
Love this! Always love reading your blog! Going to have some fun with this tomorrow!
Thank you :) Hope it turned out great!
Thanks for the tips! God bless you and your family!
Thank you for the tips!
God bless you and your family!
thanks so much for this great tutorial. just a q. did you use a tripod? thank you in advance.
Hey Betty,
No, I didn’t use a tripod for these images. You can but I like to be able to move around easily with my camera.
Thank you for these great tips ..
I have a 50mm f1.8, which is relatively new for me. I enjoy the bokeh effect, but I’m always concerned about the subject (person) not being completely in focus. Your first image at f1.4 doesn’t seem to have that issue…unless it’s difficult to tell on my screen. Then you went to f2 for the second image. What do you typically shoot at? I’m not that comfortable at f1.8 due to the focus issue, and stop up to f2. Is that something I need to become more comfortable with?