Alone

Lady Pitstop

Lady Pitstop

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Name
Donna
Edit My Images
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Haven't shot anything like this before but I saw this chap sitting all by himself watching the hustle and bustle around him, he didn't look very amused though :D C&C welcome.

man2.jpg


Reworked version

alone.jpg
 
I like it lots and I like your idea of dropping the focus on the background. Needs to be tidied up somewhat though. :)
 
Was the blur added to this pic afterwards in photoshop to give it the 'hustle and bustle' feel? :shrug: I like the idea though, great expression on his face too. :)


Jewel
 
The blur does need to be tidied up - clearly the background near his head is sharp.

Mask off the background a bit more accurately, going close round his head, and apply Lens Blur, rather than Gaussian Blur - it'll look just right.(y)
 
Lovely shot - well seen. Blurring the bg is the way to go, but it needs a bit more work. The stonework either side of the old guy's head is still sharp. It doesn't make much sense that the two people at the table on the right are both blurred while the table between them is sharp, Similarly the woman on the left is blurrred while the back of her chair is sharp. There are a few other place which are too sharp too, but it's a great shot and well worth spending some time on. :)
 
nice, but photoshop is easy to see. :)
 
Thanks everyone. I must confess it was a bit of a rush job :bonk:.

CT - I'm having trouble deciding where on the floor to start the blurring - I've had another go but not really happy yet! Or maybe should I have left it alone in the first place - trouble is I always feel the need to meddle with my pictures which isn't always good :nono: So any suggestions would be gratefully received - thanks :)
 
The thing is LP, that in the real world dof field drops off gradually, not suddenly from in focus to out of focus. It's very difficult to do realistically. The best way is probably to divide your pic into horizontal bands and then increase the amount of blur in each band as the distance from the camera increases. That's the anorak answer! :D

On the other hand you can simulate the effect of a longer lens by just having the old guy, his table and chairs sharp, and fairly sudden drop off in dof behind him for everything else. The problem there is that sharp chair and table on the right, which is too close for a sudden loss of dof.

Basically it's a difficult image because you have objects at all distances - hence the need for the banding approach. Well worth persevering though - and it's good practice. ;)
 
Try duplicating the image and blurring the whole duplicated layer. Then use the gradient tool to add a layer mask. This gives you the gradual fall off of focus. You can then add to the layer mask to remove the blur completely from the subject and everything on his plane of focus. It's the same technique as making a fake tilt/shift image.
 
I dunno LP perhaps we both are. :p I do have PSP X somewhere, but I use PSP 7 for nearly everything, I've just got so used to it and it's quick.
 
Lady Pitstop said:
I know it's got a gradient fill - is that what you mean? Apart from that I can't see any other gradient tools or am I being a complete numpty??:LOL:
Click to expand...

Sorry don't know much about Paint Shop Pro. It is the gradient fill tool you use though (if you can use use layer masks in PSP that is :thinking:).
 
Garry, not too hot on layer masks yet, I've only ever used the adjustment layer mask and raster and vector ones. Looks like I need lessons in masks.!

Oh well, nevermind, I'm fed up now with looking at his grumpy face :LOL:

Thanks for the help everyone - much appreciated. :)
 
Oh well, nevermind, I'm fed up now with looking at his grumpy face
Click to expand...

I think the re-work is heaps better and I reckon it's right to stop, having learned to do something new and before you hate the sight of the thing. (y):D
 
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