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DIY Shamrock Bokeh Lights

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I promised to show you how to do the shape-bokeh light effect in the DIY Ghost Light Tutorial I shared earlier, and I didn’t forget! Here is the tutorial with Shamrock Bokeh Lights in a background of green ambient. You may adapt the tutorial for any shape of bokeh lights you like.

Learn how to create your own DIY Shamrock Bokeh Lights effects and adapt the method to create custom bokeh shapes.

Happy St Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate!

I recently planted some wheatgrass meant for an upcoming Easter cum St Patrick’s Day craft. Again, I woke up to see some beautiful dew drops setting at the tip of the grass, so pretty that I couldn’t resist taking some close-up photos of them.

Learn how to create your own DIY Shamrock Bokeh Lights effects and adapt the method to create custom bokeh shapes.

Over the years, I have earned and saved enough to invest in an affordable and good DSLR camera. Now, I am back to take another round of dewdrops photos.

Previously, I needed to do some photo editing to crop on a big photo to show the tiny dewdrops. But today, I am not just able to take a real close-up macro photo but also able to have a lovely bokeh effect out of the dewdrops’ light reflections with my Canon EOS 60DBokeh Lights.

After a few shootings and reviewing the greenery photos, an idea struck through my mind that I could do it with shamrock bokeh lights since St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, and also to keep my promise, one stone two birds, why not! 🙂

Learn how to create your own DIY Shamrock Bokeh Lights effects and adapt the method to create custom bokeh shapes.

One last thing before you jump to the bokeh lights tutorial, look what I have found in the wheatgrasses… a tiny little visitor resting on the wheatgrass. Ok, this is a cropped photo as my economic macro lens can’t get so close to it yet. Maybe I will invest in an expensive professional macro lens if I am going for the assignment of tiny world photography that I love to do. Who knows, maybe another 3 years from now…. lol

A fly just happened to stop by to say hello while I was doing the bokeh lights photo shooting. It must be the dew drop that attracted it to come for a closer look.

Learn how to create your own DIY Shamrock Bokeh Lights effects and adapt the method to create custom bokeh shapes.

DIY Shamrock Bokeh Lights

Tools & Materials:
1. DSLR camera [I am using Canon EOS 60DBokeh Lights]
2. Large Aperture Zoom Lens (at least f2.5 or smaller value) with macro function (for shooting tiny dew drops) [I am using Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro LensBokeh Lights]
3. Black craft paper
4. Shamrock paper punch
5. Adhesive tape
6. Dew Drops or holiday lights

 
Shamrock Bokeh Lights

With black craft paper, draw a circle big enough to cover the filter diameter of the lens. Cut.
Cut a strip about 1″ wide, long enough to wrap around the lens.
Fold the circle a little bit so that your puncher can get to the center of the circle. Punch out the shamrock pattern. Unfold.
Glue them up with adhesive tape to make a DIY lens hood.

 
Shamrock Bokeh Lights

Fit the lens hood snuggly on the lens to cover the front completely with the shamrock-shaped hood.

 
Shamrock Bokeh Lights

Set the shooting mode to “Av”, aka aperture priority.

 
Shamrock Bokeh Lights

Now, set the aperture to the smallest value that your lens has (f2.5, f1.8, or f1.4) to open up the aperture to the largest opening.
In photography term, this is called Depth of Field (DOF), the bigger the aperture open, the swallower the DOF which means more blurry objects outside the focus point.

 
Bokeh Lights

Find some light sources to take photos; for this instance, it is the reflection on the dew drops. You can use Christmas lights too that do not require a macro lens.
Set your camera to the biggest zoom value (magnifying) you can, and in macro shooting for dew drops.
Either de-focus and point to the lighting source to take a bokeh photo, or focus at 1 point and let the rest goes bokeh-ly blur.
Happy creating your own bokeh lights!!!

Learn how to create your own DIY Shamrock Bokeh Lights effects and adapt the method to create custom bokeh shapes.
Author bio

Joanne Loh

~ Founder and Editor ~
Born into a creative family, Joanne Loh has over 40 years of experience in sewing, crocheting, and knitting. Well-known for her creative approach to DIY crafts, her creations demonstrate a strong dedication to quality and spreading her enthusiasm among the crafting community.
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El Zorro

Friday 10th of February 2017

Sorry to break it to you after so long, but shamrocks are not four leaf clovers, but have three leafs per St. Patrick teaching about the trinity. Nice try.

Craft Passion

Friday 10th of February 2017

Thanks for the info **blush**

Lima

Friday 16th of March 2012

This is so smart, thanks for sharing the tutorial! I linked it in a serie I’m writing for my blog (http://rock-n-roll-stops-the-traffic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diy-from-head-to-toe-3-special-edition.html), I hope you don’t mind! :)

Alice

Thursday 8th of March 2012

this is so useful, thanks !:)