The Bokeh Effect

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Josefina_with_Bokeh.jpg

Have you ever heard of the term Bokeh effect? Well, it does sound like its a scientific jargon or a certain theory from a Chemistry class but it's not, it's a term that is well known in advanced photography. If you would take a look at the picture above, you would see that the background lacks the details making it hard to depict what objects are there in the background, though of course we have some clue, because of the some color information we know that there's foliage, grass and some trees out there. But, take a closer look and focus your eyes on what makes up the background image.

Yes, it's made up of circles of light in different sizes. And that's Bokeh effect. ("Bokeh" is a Japanese term that means blurred. If you would notice each circle also varies in transparency, color and value which really makes it interesting to look at. This kind of effect adds depth to a certain image. It can be used as a background or it can also be used as the subject itself. Here are a few more examples:

The shapes are not limited to circles

Take a look at some of these words in Bokeh effect...

art in me header 041511

The good news is you can actually make some of these.
Go ahead try making one! [ You might want to try to give your name a Bokeh effect! ]
Just check out the link below.

Bokeh Text [ click me ] 

Enjoy
You can also check out these wonderful examples of Bokeh Photography.
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/beautiful-examples-of-bokeh-photography/