“Christmas say what?” you ask. Yes, you read it correctly.  Christmas lights bokeh.   It’s those pretty bubbles of light in a blurry background you’ve been seeing in magazines and Instagram feeds.  Whether it’s your Christmas tree or some lighted garland or your outdoor decorations, that pretty  blurry background is something most everyone wants to learn how to do when they are first figuring out photography.

Wanna learn how to do it, too?  Okay, go grab your camera.  It’s okay, I’ll wait. 😉

Portrait Mode Preset

Alrighty then!  The easiest way to do this with your camera is to use one of the scene presets.  Look at the dial on your camera; it’s probably resting on the green rectangle or Auto setting.  Now, spin the dial to the icon that looks like a lady in a hat.  (Depending on your camera model, this setting might be in a menu rather than on a dial.)

Once you have that selected, practice by placing a stuffed animal or something in between you and the Christmas lights.  In this case, I grabbed a little happy meal toy.

selective focus fairy on table with Christmas light bokeh background

Press your shutter halfway down to lock focus on your subject and then take the photo.  Cool, right? 

Depending on the camera/lens you have, this effect might be subtle.  The more distance you have between your subject and the background, the bigger the bubbles of light will appear.

Aperture Priority Mode

If you are ready for more control over your camera, spin the dial on the top to “AV” (or “A” on a Nikon) which stands for aperture priority mode.  It’s usually by your index finger, but it could be in a menu as well depending on your camera model.  Next, spin the dial by your thumb to the lowest number you can.  Lenses with f/4.0 to f/1.2 are going to give you the best results.  If you’re using a zoom lens, you’ll want to extend the zoom and then dial the aperture number as far down as you can.  (For kit lenses, that might only go as far as f/5.6.)  

Similar to the portrait preset, this tells the camera that you only want a very small area of the photo to be in focus.  Once you set the aperture dial, press the shutter button halfway down to focus and the camera will choose the other settings for you to create a “proper” exposure.

If you are focusing on a subject that you can move (like the toy in my example above), try increasing the distance between the subject and the lights.  What does that do to the size and blur of the bubbles?

You can use this same technique for other things besides Christmas lights bokeh, too.  It’s great for making your subject stand out or hiding the clutter in the background.  Which is great when you don’t want to miss a sweet photo opportunity with your kids while you hurry and tidy up the playroom, etc.

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