Originally posted by Cuthbert These shots were taken at f1.4 and from very close distance with the foreground very far away. For me I like it a lot, but I assume you prefer this kind of bokeh:
Yes, especially for an environmental portrait lens. I think people look better with a smooth, less distracting backgrounds in general. Perhaps if you want to create a mood of nervousness and tension with a busy background like that would be appropriate. But that's my 2 cents worth.
I've noticed generally with ringed bokeh it outlines the edges of complex foliage making for less than a smooth out of focus background while yet render smoothy with more solid objects in the background.