Hello everyone,
I wanted to share some examples of renders I made using custom aperture maps.
Due to my background in live-action filmmaking I have been loving to play with Advanced Bokeh Effects and Aperture Map settings.
We have made all of our production Resources on Blauw Films available for Free!
If you want to easily make custom aperture maps download our Bokeh Builder
(
https://www.blauwfilms.com/product/bokeh-builder)
Camera-lenses or your human eyes have varying degrees of optical aberrations.
This makes every image unique in the way the blur looks and more importantly, feels.
However, the characteristics that really transcend your image to the next level are the differences between lenses of the same focal lengths.
Two identical lenses, let’s say 50mm with an f/1.2, can still produce very different results.
We are talking about the differences caused by Aberrations (both chromatic and monochromatic), by aperture shape and by imperfections.
These artefacts define the look and feel of a lens by subtly influencing the way light reaches the film or sensor. These lens properties can affect the amount of contrast in an image, even the contrast in the depth of field. Or you can explore different levels of vignetting caused by optical aberrations.
Optical aberrations such as Light Compensation are an important factor in defining the look of the bokeh. A lens allows light to enter the tube and then it magnifies it through a variety of elements.
The result is a cone of light that hits the sensor or film.
The cone of light however is 3-Dimensional, and the light distribution within that cone might not be evenly distributed. This causes density variations in the blur disk.
Lens manufacturers have to make a decision at this point as to how they want their bokeh to feel.
This step is called compensating the lens.
We can categorise this in 3 main types of light compensation.
• Under-compensated
• Balanced
• Over-compensated
Under-compensated lenses focus the light towards the centre of the blur disk. This gives the most softness in your out-of-focus areas as each bokeh ball nicely blends into the next one.
Lenses with under-compensated light distribution are often used for Portrait photography, or when your scene requires a smooth and clean feel.
Over-compensated lenses focus the light towards the edges of the blur disk. This funnily enough introduces contrast into your out-of-focus areas. The bokeh becomes a halo of light that calls attention to itself. In a situation where you have bright elements in your background that you want to emphasise, even while out of focus, an over-compensated lens is the way to go.
This usually gives a sharp feel to your image.
And finally, for creators that want the best of both worlds, you can opt for a Balanced lens.
This only comes at the cost of a bit of contrast in your out-of-focus areas. The balanced compensation eliminates the bright hotspots seen in the centre or the edges of the other two types of lenses. For an unobtrusive feel I’d recommend you use evenly lit blur disks such as these.
Hope this was useful :)
Would love to hear thoughts on how you approach Depth of Field in Corona.
Cheers, Leo
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