roger_k Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Hi I have a consumer grade digital camera. I think the lens is fixed at f8 or f11. I want to create the blurry background that SLR cameras are known for with portraits. Is there any way I can blur the backgrounds to create the Depth of Field effect? I saw that there are a few different bluring tools in the filter menu. Any suggestions are welcome for the best results.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.graemehird.com Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Select the area you want as a background, using the lasso tool and/or gradient with mask. Choose Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur and knock yourself out. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livvie Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 My method is along same lines but slightly more tweekable as you tweek on the second layer and leave the original (background layer) untouched till finished. open file - duplicate background - apply filter>gaussian blur (@1-2) to second layer go to menu >layer>add layer mask>reveal all then click on gradient tool and experiment to hide as much or as little of top layer as you want. tweek further using layer opacity when done >menu>layer>remove layer mask and apply or discard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark pav Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Yet another way: Apply your blur and then click the box next to this step in the history window, then go back a step to the one before your blur. Next, choose the history brush and paint in the bits you want blurred. You can adjust the opacity to make the far background more blurry than the closer background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_staver1 Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Frischluft Lenscare is the best plugin I've seen for this type of thing. It simulates the out of focus effects you get from a real camera instead of just blurring the background, which doesn't look the same. http://www.frischluft.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jem Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Andromeda vari-focus is another option... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klix Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Roger, IMO, your best bet would be to buy "Photoshop for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby. It describes different tricks you can do in Photoshop for various things, blurred effect being one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk_arts Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Painter had a DOF filter, and it sucked. What i would do is duplicate the image onto a new layer, run a blur/soft blur(see below) over the entire duplicated layer. Use the gaussian algorhythm for your basic cheap blur. Then using a layer mask mask away the parts of the image you want to remain sharp. If you have multiple parts of the image that are at different depths (which would require variable amounds of blur) duplicate the layer, run a moderate blur, mask, duplicate that layer (which would include the original mask) blur again, at the same amount to compound the effect, add to the mask. To soft blur make two duplications of the layer, blur one, decrease it's opacity, merge, mask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_k Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 Thank you all, I have many options now. I have tried the Gaussian blur effect on a different layer and it works wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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