bestphotolessons

There is a term for the out of focus areas in a picture with shallow depth of field - that is Bokeh. When a lens has a good Bokeh, the out of focus areas tend to have a smoothness that other pictures do not.

The Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens is supposed to have a great Bokeh and is excellent for portrait photography at a reasonable cost.

Learn more about Bokeh through the Wikipedia page.