Step by Step / Grab your kit and head outside
1 Choose your lens
A lens with a wide aperture and a longer focal length will produce a shallow depth of field, and thus creates more extreme bokeh. This means more out of focus areas in front of – and behind – the point of focus. You can see the difference between shots at f/2.8 and f/1.4, with f/1.4 making bigger circles of bokeh.
2 Pick your lights
Not all fairy lights are created equally. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and even colours. We found that these warm, yellowish ‘micro lights’ looked the best because of their small copper connecting wires and dainty LED bulbs. Bigger lights have thicker cables, which will be a lot more obvious in the photograph.
3 Put on some glasses
This technique is all about the sparkling bokeh, so introducing any kind of reflection to the scene will multiply the amount of sparkle we see. We bought some clear, aviator-style glasses for our model to wear. Their large frame maximizes the surface area of glass, giving us a few more reflections.
4 Wait for the light
We want to create a cosy, intimate mood in this portrait, so we’ll need to shoot after sunset (aka the blue hour) when light levels drop and become bluer, but before the night sky turns completely black. The orange colour from the lights complement this blue tone, and the glow of the lights will be more noticeable on your model’s face.