APOGEE PHOTO MAGAZINE: Let's Get Digital

Apogee Photo Magazine


Let's Get Digital Photo Art Lesson 4: Selective Focus Selective focus has a tendency to create depth of field and adds to the beauty of certain images. Blurring part of a flat image makes selective focus possible. There are varieties of blur options available to us. An example of selective focus is seen below.
	We begin with a shot of 3 dancers (all in focus) taken in Cambodia . The objective is to create multi-layer blur which will simulate depth. 1- Start by : a) Making 2 copies of the original layer so that you have a backup in case you want to go back. 2-Adjust your color using LEVELS or CURVES.
	3- Name this layer Blur 1 and use Filter----> Gaussian blur (Set the radius to 7 for this part of the blur process.) Now you have a blur layer on top and a focus layer. To partly blind these layers we need a mask.
	4- Create a layer mask by clicking the Layers mask box. A layer mask appears as an additional thumbnail to the right of the layer thumbnail. This thumbnail represents the grayscale (alpha) channel created by Adobe Photoshop when you add the layer mask.
5 - Make sure your color palette is set on default. 6 - Click on Linear Gradient (The gradient tools create a gradual blend between multiple colors. You can choose from existing gradient fills or create your own. You draw a gradient by dragging in the image from a starting point (where the mouse is pressed) to an ending point (where the mouse is released). The starting and ending points affect the gradient appearance according to the gradient tool and color used. This will give us a black to white mask. result will be mixing of blur 1 and focus layer.
	7 - Click and drag your cursor horizontally from dancer 1 to dancer 2, (this is how your mask should look like.) Note: If the partial blur is not to the way you wanted you can re-do the transition over until you get what you want. Merge your layers by merge / visible.
	8 - Repeat the process above one more time in order to create a more extreme blur for the dancer to the right. This time, your blur option radius should be set from 27 to 30 and the gradient transition line should be between the middle dancer and the dancer on the right. Try it.
All images and text are property of Lenscape Workshops . Abe Rafiq, Managing Director of Lenscape Workshops Ltd. URL: http://www.lenscape.com