I wanted to share a GREAT tip in the form of a tutorial as well as provide a contest for fun!
Have you ever taken a great shot, subject in focus, right lighting, ect...but the background was being a distraction? Was this due to shooting too high of an aperture? Sometimes everything in the picture will be in focus and it takes away from the subject. With this tutorial I will show you how to simulate aperture in photoshop (post processing).
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Tutorial Start
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*Note - To see a larger image click on the inline thumbnail*
This is the original image I will be working with throughout this tutorial.
You'll notice that the cheerleaders in the background are a distraction, I've marked all of this in the picture below. Go back to the picture above now that you know what I have marked as a distraction and try looking at the main subject and see how the people around her are distracting...
You might think to yourself 'Why not just crop the distraction out?' Well this is why. Look at the picture below which has been cropped really tight around the main subject. You loose too much information. It looks as she is almost there by herself and not in a squad.
Here is where the fun begins...
First Make a copy of the original layer. To do this simply drag the background layer to the 'New Layer' button.
The next thing we want to do is Blur what will be our background. To do this we are going to blur everything on the new layer. So go to Filter > Blur > Gaussain Blur This is where you want to use that thing called creativity. Play with the blur slider and see what it looks like. Just remember ignore the main subject, just blur the background to the point you want. Don't go overboard or it will look fake also. You'll notice I'm using 5 pixels for this photo.
Now we want to create a layer mask on this new layer. To do this follow the directions in the following image...
Masks allow you to do several things. In this application we are going to use it to 'paint what we want to erase'
Press 'D' to reset your colors back to Black and White Then press 'X' to switch them so Black is your forground color. Black will erase and white will put it back.
The first thing I do is use a large brush, about 175 pixels, with a hard edge and 'erase all over my subject. Look at the picture below to see my image after this step.
Now Press 'D' to reset your colors with white as forground. Grab a smaller soft edge brush. Something like in the picture below...
Then zoom in and start painting the blur back. I usually zoom in 200 percent or more depending on the area. Also to get in tight spaces resize your brush to a smaller size.
Once you have gone around the whole image and your happy with it save it as a Jpeg and you're done! If you say to yourself 'I don't think its blurred enough just blur it some more.
This will make your main subject 'POP' and stick out. Compare the before and after images and look at the difference.
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Tutorial End
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Challenge Start
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Your challenge, should you accept it, is to take a picture using an aperture of F16 or higher. Or if you already have an image on hand that has a great depth of field you may use it.
Then use what you have learned in this tutorial to simulate depth of field. Present your final image with your original to the group.
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Challenge End
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Guidelines
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1. You must provide original and post processed image to prove you have simulated aperture and depth of field.
2. Deadline is October 15th
3. Two entries per person
4. Image sizes should be kept within 1000 by 1000 pixels (around 750x750 is prefered)
5. Have fun
6. Have more fun
7. Learn
-Grant
Have you ever taken a great shot, subject in focus, right lighting, ect...but the background was being a distraction? Was this due to shooting too high of an aperture? Sometimes everything in the picture will be in focus and it takes away from the subject. With this tutorial I will show you how to simulate aperture in photoshop (post processing).
----------------------------------------------
Tutorial Start
----------------------------------------------
*Note - To see a larger image click on the inline thumbnail*
This is the original image I will be working with throughout this tutorial.
You'll notice that the cheerleaders in the background are a distraction, I've marked all of this in the picture below. Go back to the picture above now that you know what I have marked as a distraction and try looking at the main subject and see how the people around her are distracting...
You might think to yourself 'Why not just crop the distraction out?' Well this is why. Look at the picture below which has been cropped really tight around the main subject. You loose too much information. It looks as she is almost there by herself and not in a squad.
Here is where the fun begins...
First Make a copy of the original layer. To do this simply drag the background layer to the 'New Layer' button.
The next thing we want to do is Blur what will be our background. To do this we are going to blur everything on the new layer. So go to Filter > Blur > Gaussain Blur This is where you want to use that thing called creativity. Play with the blur slider and see what it looks like. Just remember ignore the main subject, just blur the background to the point you want. Don't go overboard or it will look fake also. You'll notice I'm using 5 pixels for this photo.
Now we want to create a layer mask on this new layer. To do this follow the directions in the following image...
Masks allow you to do several things. In this application we are going to use it to 'paint what we want to erase'
Press 'D' to reset your colors back to Black and White Then press 'X' to switch them so Black is your forground color. Black will erase and white will put it back.
The first thing I do is use a large brush, about 175 pixels, with a hard edge and 'erase all over my subject. Look at the picture below to see my image after this step.
Now Press 'D' to reset your colors with white as forground. Grab a smaller soft edge brush. Something like in the picture below...
Then zoom in and start painting the blur back. I usually zoom in 200 percent or more depending on the area. Also to get in tight spaces resize your brush to a smaller size.
Once you have gone around the whole image and your happy with it save it as a Jpeg and you're done! If you say to yourself 'I don't think its blurred enough just blur it some more.
This will make your main subject 'POP' and stick out. Compare the before and after images and look at the difference.
---------------------------------------------
Tutorial End
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
Challenge Start
---------------------------------------------
Your challenge, should you accept it, is to take a picture using an aperture of F16 or higher. Or if you already have an image on hand that has a great depth of field you may use it.
Then use what you have learned in this tutorial to simulate depth of field. Present your final image with your original to the group.
---------------------------------------------
Challenge End
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
Guidelines
---------------------------------------------
1. You must provide original and post processed image to prove you have simulated aperture and depth of field.
2. Deadline is October 15th
3. Two entries per person
4. Image sizes should be kept within 1000 by 1000 pixels (around 750x750 is prefered)
5. Have fun
6. Have more fun
7. Learn
-Grant
