Special Bokeh Filters: Give Your Photo's a Creative Twist!

These filters are a great way to make your give photography a little creative and personal touch, and they cost next to nothing. The filters work best with fast primes, like a nifty fifty, but you could also try it on a point and shoot camera, if you make the cutout small enough. If you have some vintage glass laying around, these should work on there too and give a really cool look!

Supplies

Black paper
White pencil
box cutter
lens (preferably with a fast aperture)
some small templates of the wanted shape (optional, these are only used to draw your shape.)
rubber bands, or a filter holder if you have one
triangle or ruler

Step 1: Determine Filter Size, and Draw It on the Paper

If you have a filter holder like me, just draw a rectangle with the size of your filters using your pencil. Then, draw the two diagonals to determine the middle of the rectangle.
If you don't have a filter holder, no problem! You can also do it without. Measure your filter size, and draw a circle with the same diameter. I just turned my lens upside down, and drawed around it using my pencil. depending on the lens you want to use, you may want to think about how you want to attach the filter (rubber bands, tape, ... )

Step 2: Draw the Shape You Want.

I drew a spiral and a star, but you can draw any shape you want here. Some inspiration: a smiley, Christmas tree, heart, fireworks, ... Just any symbol you want, really, as long as it hasn't too much details because these may not show that well on your photo's. Just make sure that you don't make the cutout too big for your lens, look in the table above to determine what the maximum size is.(Click on it to see it fully) If you are using the round design, without filter holder, als add some little flaps to put under the rubber bands.

Step 3: Cutting

Cut your shapes and filters out. If you are using the round design, also fold the flaps to a right angle. Your filters are ready to go!

Step 4: Camera Settings

To use the filters, put your camera in Aperture priority and use manual focus, and any light points in the background will turn into your chosen shape. I used a lego set and some Christmas lights, which made for a great combo.