Bokeh creates an intentional and visually distinctive out-of-focus area within a photograph. The eye is naturally attracted to the focus subject. A photographer creates out of focus areas through lens, aperture (f-stop) and distance from the subject. Sometimes, the photographer doesn’t have this control, which is where Bokeh can be applied.

Highlights of Bokeh:

Clean & Easy Interface
Bokeh opens in an intuitive, clean, easy-to-use interface that provides factory and user defaults, and the power of custom adjustments. This interface, by selecting “Settings” tab, provides a large selection of factory preset settings. Custom settings can be saved and reused enhancing efficiency. The default and custom settings can be adjusted with sliders after selecting one of the two adjustment tabs: Bokeh and Vignette on the user interface.

The focus region selection enables control over the how the filter is applied on the image. Typically, a radial focus region is placed over the subject, or portion of the subject to preserve important detail. In contrast, the planar focus region provides a gradient and direction for the out-of-focus effect.

Images
To illustrate Bokeh’s effects, an image was selected from photos taken with a Nikon D200 (10 MP sensor), and processed in Photoshop CS4 . The original and processed images are presented below.

Original Photo

Bokeh with radial focus region

Original photo

Bokeh with one planar focus region

Bokeh with two planar focus regions

The above images are just the tip of the iceberg. Select one of the presets to create an out-of-focus effect. Then employ the controls in the adjustment tabs to fine tune the image with the full creative power of Bokeh.

Pros: Easy to use interface, Powerful out of focus controls

Cons: None noted

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 with PowerPC or Intel processor (Adobe Photoshop CS2 9.0.2; Photoshop Elements 4.0.1; Fireworks CS3); Windows XP with Pentium 4 processor (Adobe Photoshop CS2; Photoshop Elements 4.0; Fireworks CS3; Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI)
Contact: www.alienskin.com
Cost: $199 US Full Version