Project MCP: Highlights for July, Challenge #2

 Independence Day may have passed, but the patriotic spirit continued to show itself in this week’s Flickr gallery! This week’s challenge was to capture a photo of something red, white or blue. Here are some of the Project MCP team’s favorites:

Submitted by 3 Hearts Photo

Submitted by Yellow Room Photography

Submitted by Jilustrated

Submitted by Elle Zee

Submitted by austinsGG

July, Challenge #3 is to capture a bokeh photo. If this is a new technique for you, don’t worry, the Project MCP Team did some research and discovered it isn’t so hard to create a beautiful bokeh image. There are 3 key elements you need to think about when capturing the perfect bokeh photo:

1. Depth of Field – Reduce the depth of field in order to blur the background. You can achieve this by using a very wide aperture (f1.8 or less). If you don’t have a lens capable of a wide aperture, you can use a telephoto lens to achieve the same effect, or simply move your subject as far away from the background as possible.

2. Background – Take your photo against a high-contrast backdrop. Bokeh is oftentimes best captured at night, using the streetlights and/or city lights

3. Shape – Your bokeh image will take the shape of your lens diaphragm. Higher-end lenses typically yield the best bokeh images, as they have more aperture blades. You can also create your own shape by creating a lens mask in any shape you desire.

 There is also a fabulous tutorial on the MCP Blog focusing on taking Christmas themed bokeh photos. It may not be Christmas-time, but these same principles can be applied to any bokeh photo set-up.

We cannot wait to see your images for July, Challenge #3!

We want to thank our corporate sponsors for Project MCP: