FAQ 21 • Fokeh
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2101. What is fokeh?
Fokeh is non-optical (“faux”) bokeh blur.
Bokeh = areas of the image that are “out of focus” due to lens optics.*
Fokeh = areas of the image that appear to be out of focus due to reasons other than what the lens optics rendered.
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*Assuming a normally functioning lens, with no blur-inducing devices attached to it.
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2102. Does rinairs allow fokeh?
(rinairs is TTG’s arbiter for misrepresentation)
No. Fokeh is “blur added to an image after light from the scene hits the recording surface,” and as a rule post-exposure blurring is not done to trusted reportage photographs.
Rinairs’ non-allowance of fokeh matters greatly, because it means that — unlike with things like “light”-related changes, which rinairs does allow — rinairs cannot be used as a reference to judge the use of fokeh.
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2103. Why does fokeh always disqualify a photo from TTG?
Among other reasons, P2 of the Trust Test disqualifies fokeh because there is no way to limit fokeh from being carried to untrustworthy extremes...
. . . and the TTG label would be worthless if it legitimized extremely untrustworthy photographs.
An example of taking fokeh to an “untrustworthy extreme” would be blurring out all but one face in a group photo because “each face is, technically speaking, a different distance from the camera.” Again, the TTG label would be meaningless if it endorsed that kind of blurring.
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2104. But couldn't there be a TTG-like label that put some limits on fokeh without allowing the blurring of all undesirable areas?
No, because anytime that rinairs can’t be used as a limiter — and rinairs doesn’t allow fokeh (see #2102 above) — then it is impossible to set limits without running into a no-win situation (see #4 here).
But anyone who disagrees is encouraged to draft a “limited” allowance for fokeh, put it online, and invite comments.
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2105. What smartphone settings create fokeh?
The “Portrait” mode on smartphones is the most common method of adding fokeh to a photo, but it can also be added with various apps and with programs like Photoshop.
The means by which fokeh is added makes no difference from a trust perspective. Background blur is either produced optically or it is not — and if it is not, the result cannot qualify as TTG.
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2106. How do I keep my phone from adding fokeh?
Use the simple “Photo” mode to take pictures and not “Portrait” or any other mode.
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2107. Why do photographers want fokeh in undesirable areas of their pictures?
Because the photographer doesn’t want viewers to give their attention to those areas of the photograph.
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2108. How can I tell if I’m seeing fokeh in my own photos?
The most common way to know: if you took the photo with a smartphone and you can change with a slider the amount of “bokeh blur” after you take a picture, you are seeing fokeh.
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2109. How do I make my fokeh photo eligible for TTG?
For the photo to be TTG-eligible, the fokeh has to be removed so that the photo is focus-maximized.
Assuming the fokeh was added on a smartphone, the fokeh can be removed by sliding the (artificial) “aperture” slider on the phone to the highest number available.
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2110. What about improving the attractiveness of optical bokeh or accentuating the optical bokeh?
Both of those things disqualify an image from TTG, thanks to P2.
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2111. What kinds of blur are allowed by TTG?
Any blur in TTG-qualified photographs can only be created by optical means — i.e., by light passing through the lens without any blur-adding filters.
This “allowable blur” includes out-of-focus areas rendered by the lens aperture setting,* and it also includes motion blur (subject of course to sasibe limits) and panning/camera shake (but if the shake is excessive, the photo will fail to meet P7).
*Many single-exposure photos have optically produced out-of-focus areas, especially when focused fairly close to the camera. These areas do not disqualify a photograph from TTG unless they fail to meet the rinairs standard for misrepresentation, as with contraswing and contratilt.
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2112. Why does TTG disqualify the addition of fokeh if it is done instantly when the photograph is taken?
Because no matter how quickly it happens, the blurring is still a simulation applied to the photograph after the light from the scene hit the recording surface in the camera.
TTG photos include only what was seen by the recording surface of the camera, not what was simulated later.
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2113. What if I have the latest smartphone and it can add fokeh that looks just as convincing as if I had used a large-aperture lens on a large-sensor camera?
The appearance of the effect is irrelevant. (“It’s not just about how the picture looks anymore.”)
When viewers know, or think they know, how a photo was made, then their trust is based on other factors than “how convincing a manipulation looks.”
In other words, disqualifying manipulations still disqualify photographs from TTG even when executed to perfection. (That explains how there can be two identical-looking images of which only one qualifies as TTG.)
Other common rationales that don’t matter with TTG
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2114. What if I want the smartphone-added fokeh in my photo?
They keep the fokeh that your phone adds and don’t worry about TTG.
Photographers in the 21st century routinely choose to optimize “appearance” instead of optimizing “trustworthiness.”
In most contexts outside of news reportage, viewers are fine with either choice as long as they aren’t being deceived.
Why does the public increasingly assume that impressive photographs have been “Doctored or aigmented unless explained otherwise”?
• For more, see the guide to focus and bokeh blur
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