How To: Create Bokeh Images on Your iPhone

In light of this week's Giveaway Tuesdays Photo Challenge, we've posted a thorough guide to experimenting with bokeh photography. Most of the resources require a DSLR camera, and an intermediate understanding of some of the more technical components of photography.

If you don't own a DSLR, but you're interested in participating in this week's challenge, you may want to play with some of the apps below. I experimented with all six, and had a great time creating convincing bokeh images with a just few taps to the touchscreen.

Shown above is the original image of the Giveaway Tuesdays mascot—see it morphed into a bokeh image with the aid of the apps below.

1. LensLight

(EDITOR'S PICK) As far as simplicity and ease go, LensLight is the best bokeh app of the bunch. You can choose from a variety of bokeh filters, apply to the image and reduce or increase the brightness. Simply touch the screen with your finger to manipulate the range of the effect. LensLight doesn't, however, allow for some of the complexities of the more advanced apps, such as our other editor's pick, Big Lens. ($0.99)

2. Big Lens

(EDITOR'S PICK) Like a real DSLR, Big Lens allows you to play with a range of aperture settings. Choose where to apply the blur, and then apply the filter and/or bokeh shape of your choice. With an elegant and easy-to-use interface, this app is the choice advanced app of the bunch.($0.99)

3. RetroCamera

RetroCamera has a decent interface, though not as smooth as Big Lens. It does offer, however, quite a bit of tweaking in terms of light and dark manipulation, where to apply the blur, and several bokeh shapes to choose from. ($1.99)

4. Bokeh Booth

Bokeh Booth is incredibly basic. Its user interface is a bit clunky, and user reviews report a bug or two, but its dumbed down simplicity is what I like most about it. It's incredibly easy to use, and you can erase directly with your finger. If you're looking for no-frills, go for this one. ($0.99)

5. iDarkroom

iDarkroom has a beautifully designed user interface, and a plethora of effects, including about half a dozen bokeh-specific filters. Overall, it's a high quality app, but if you're going solely for Bokeh, I would opt for Big Lens. ($0.99)

6. MonotoriCam

MonotoriCam has very few functions, and I found it difficult to pull out the bokeh shapes. This, of course, is dependent on the amount of light and dark in the image, but nonetheless, I found this app to be the least user-friendly of the bunch. I also struggled with reducing the saturation, as you can see below. ($0.99)

Know of any other great bokeh apps? Comment below—especially if it's for Android! Don't forget to participate in this week's Bokeh Challenge. All entries must be in by Monday, November 7th, 11:59pm PST. More details here.