Regardless of how you pronounce “bokeh” (see our hilarious video on this topic), it’s an important concept to understand if you want to shoot photos that grab attention by making the primary subject in a scene really stand out against a soft and pleasing background.

Not to be confused with background blur, bokeh describes the out-of-focus areas in an image—or more specifically, the quality of these areas within the frame. In the quick video below from the Photography Course YouTube channel, you’ll learn what causes bokeh, the difference between good bokeh and bad, and how to use to accentuate key portions of a photo.

This straightforward tutorial is episode #26 of the “52 Week Series” that simplifies basic photography concepts with quick weekly lessons. By watching today’s video on bokeh, you’ll become a better photographer in barely five minutes.

Instructor Taya Iv puts it like this: “Bokeh is basically out-of-focus circles that appear when you use a wide aperture on your lens.” It’s an effective portraiture technique whereby a model is sharp, but the background has smooth circular areas that are more interesting than flat blur.

The first step in achieving this pleasing effect is setting the lens to the widest available f/stop. But as you’ll see, there’s more to it than this. Other considerations include camera-to-subject distance, the focal length in use, the position of your subject, and how he or she is lit.

And then there’s the imaging characteristic of your lens, which is why many photographers purchase lenses known for creating beautiful bokeh. And this applies to new modern glass as well as to hard-to-find vintage “bokeh monsters” from the past.

Iv pulls all these variables together, while explaining how to get the job done, whether you’re shooting outside in natural light or using a supplemental source of illumination. Bottom line: by following her advice you’ll quickly take your photography to the next level.

You can find more interesting videos on the Photography Course YouTube channel, including past episodes of the 52 Week Project, so be sure to take a look.

And the next time you need a laugh, check out the funny video we posted regarding the proper pronunciation of “bokeh.”

There are plenty of amazing new features in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), and we featured five hidden tools in a recent post. Today’s tutorial explains how to use a new capability that an experienced pro calls “unbelievable.”

This episode comes from our friends at Photoshop Café, and explains how to harness the power of this new feature in barely five minutes. Instructor Colin Smith is full of superlatives and also refers to this capability as “mind-blowing,” and he walks you through the simple step-by-step process from beginning to end.

The topic of today’s discussion is ACR’s amazing new Ai presets and masks that deliver great results and save a lot of time. He also demonstrates how easy it is to make Smart Presets of your own for future use.

Smith begins with two portraits of a lovely model, each with a different pose. He selects both images in Bridge and opens them in ACR. He then creates a simple mask of one shot, selecting all parts of the body in the Person Mask panel, to create seven separate masks for everything from Face and Body Skin, Eyebrows, and Eye Sciera, to Iris and Pupil, Lips, and Hair.

From there it’s easy to make various adjustments to each of the selected areas. Once everything looks good, it it’s time for the magic to begin. As Smith explains, “Now I’m going to save a preset, and this preset is going to know where all the parts are on the other photograph and apply them accordingly.”

While watching this happen you’ll no doubt agree that Smith’s aforementioned superlatives were no overstatement at all. Call it mind-blowing, unbelievable, or whatever you want. The point is this technique really works, and ACR does most of it for you.

As Smith demonstrates how to create new presets, he reveals all the important check boxes to invoke. Not only does this super fast technique work brilliantly, but it assures consistency among all images from the same shoot.

There are many more editing tricks and tips on Smith’s popular YouTube channel, so take a look and subscribe.

Be sure to check out the other helpful ACR tutorial from Smith mentioned above, explaining five hidden features. In this one he provides free presets and LUTS.

Landscape photographers typically reach for a wide-angle lens when shooting in the field. But as you’ll see in the tutorial below from one of our favorite outdoor photographers, doing that unnecessarily limits the type of images you capture.

It’s true that wide-angle lenses work great for photographing expansive vistas, but taking that approach can make your photos appear similar to others we see. This episode from Danish pro Mads Peter Iversen demonstrates how to capture “absolutely epic images,” by experimenting with lenses of different focal lengths.

Iversen is so confident about the five tips he provides, that he says, “We’re talking about impactful photos that hit you in the face like a runaway freight train.” In addition to the trusty wide-angle, he discusses how to shoot amazing photos with so-called “normal” lenses, zooms, and long telephotos. If you’re interested in Iversen’s preferred gear, there’s a list in the description beneath the video

The only downside to following Iversen’s advice is that you’ll be carrying a heavier pack. But after looking at his beautiful imagery we’re pretty sure you’ll agree that the great results you’ll achieve are well worth the effort.

Even if you don’t have mountains or alpine lakes nearby, like in many of Iversen’s examples, the techniques he discusses translate really well to all sorts of outdoor scenes—even if you’re a flatlander or live on a boat. While watching the video you’ll also pick up some very helpful tips on composition, exposure, camera settings and more.

Iversen also discusses how weather (good or bad) can affect the approach you take, and even determine the lens you use. And since “epic” is the theme, he also demonstrates how to make epic edits once you download images to the computer.

The tutorial wraps up with the last step in the process, namely how to turn your epic photos into epic prints, that you can share with friends and family and use to decorate your office or home.

There’s much more to learn about shooting in the great outdoors on Iversen’s instructional YouTube channel. So pay a visit and explore whenever you have time.

And if you want to try another unique approach and create landscape images that look different than most, check out our editing tutorial explaining how to create landscape photos with a special look.