@stacisingleton To make your own shapes you mean? If you google "creating custom bokeh" you will get a number of how-to instructions. I know cuz I just now tried myself!! Basically, cut a small shape in a stiff black paper and attach it to your lens. Sorry I don't have a specific address, but you'll find one right away! Good luck. :-D
It's basically caused by out of focus points of light, with opaque stencils you can shape the bokeh.
I'll let someone else explain the setting up stuff since I've only done one bokeh thing just for being bokeh, the rest have just been an addition to images I've already been shooting...
Depends on what you mean by bokeh. You have gotten some good tips for the shapes. But for regular just blurry background-get really close to the subject and make sure it is in focus, and the background will blur nicely. I didn't do any special to this shot except get really close to the 'rose'.
you want to shoot wide open - set your aperature for the lowest number that on you lens. Let's say you lens has a low aperature of 2.8 or 4.0. You want to use the lowest number possible. Then carefully focus on the subject and your background will be blurred. It takes alot of practive to keep your subject in focus - it leaves little room for error. But that is how you create background blur. This why lenses with wide aperature are so expensive. My favorite lens is the 50 1.2 and I shoot at 1.2 all the time in order to get that beautiful background blur.
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I'll let someone else explain the setting up stuff since I've only done one bokeh thing just for being bokeh, the rest have just been an addition to images I've already been shooting...
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=bokeh&w=all
http://365project.org/discuss/tips-n-tricks/3356/boken-kit-home-made