Bokeh

Bokeh comes from the Japanese word for blur or haze. It refers not to the amount of blur but to its visual character — smooth, creamy bokeh is considered pleasing, while harsh, busy bokeh distracts from the subject. The shape and number of aperture blades in a lens determine how out-of-focus highlights render — circular, hexagonal, or cat-eye shaped. Portrait photographers prize lenses that produce smooth, circular bokeh for flattering background separation. AI portrait modes on smartphones now simulate bokeh computationally, using depth maps to identify background regions and applying synthetic blur that mimics optical bokeh characteristics.