This is a new photoshop technique I tried last night. It consists of selecting part of an image to remain sharp, and radial blurring the rest with Zoom selected in the radial blur dialog box. I did it on a copied layer, then had to clone some weird spots out of the radial zoom. I then used the dodge and burn tools on the zoom-blur areas...
Thanks! I loved the body language and pose of this couple, but the backgroud didn't do much for the overall image. They were strangers in San Francisco... couldn't really ask them to go makeout somewhere with a better background. LOL
This technique saved an otherwise interesting, but lackluster shot.
Blurring the backgrounds is a great technique especialy good if you want to hide something like a stray dog. I think i went a little over the top with this though.
Thank you for posting this! I have a photo that I love, but the background is very distracting and I could not figure out how best to "save" the photo. This technique is perfect, and I can't wait to try it.
Thank you for posting this! I have a photo that I love, but the background is very distracting and I could not figure out how best to "save" the photo. This technique is perfect, and I can't wait to try it.
Post your results so we can see yours when you are finished!
I learned this technique from a random PBase gallery I viewed. I can't remember his name off the top of my head, but that's where I got the inspiration. It took a lot of tweaking and my best result were to copy the area I wanted blurred to a new layer. I could then play with it, create several layers and change layer blending modes to get good contrast in the blur area.
Marbo... I like your shot as well. Some people are purists and don't like this much manipulation. I think its great, especially when you can 'save' a great image that is relegated to mediocre status by the background or other distractions.
What technique do you prefer using to mask the non-blurred area?
I used the lasso tool to select the area I wanted to keep sharp. I inverted the selection, then expanded it by several pixels. I copied this selection to a new layer and used the radial zoom blur. Expanding the selection provides a little overlap between the sharp area and the blurred area. I then used the dodge and burn tools, the blur tool, and the clone tool to get things the way I wanted them. I also copied the blur layer, then selected "overlay" blending mode and reduced the opacity to 40%. This gave the blur area more contrast. I also worked on the original layer some. I cloned some stray hairs from the woman's face, and used gaussian blur to soften the features on her face (ie wrinkles).
I used that blur about a month ago for the first time.Here is the pic. I did not use layers or anything else. Just lasso around skater, inverse and motion blur.
I still have a long way to go with photoshop......
I used something like this about ten years ago for some friends' business cards--I will see if I can find a copy.
Using a tablet and a soft-edged brush allows you to paint a selection mask with great accuracy, and it can be easily modified/touched up separately; much easier than using the lasso or any other selection tools.
Thank you for posting this! I have a photo that I love, but the background is very distracting and I could not figure out how best to "save" the photo. This technique is perfect, and I can't wait to try it.
Post your results so we can see yours when you are finished!
I learned this technique from a random PBase gallery I viewed. I can't remember his name off the top of my head, but that's where I got the inspiration. It took a lot of tweaking and my best result were to copy the area I wanted blurred to a new layer. I could then play with it, create several layers and change layer blending modes to get good contrast in the blur area.
Marbo... I like your shot as well. Some people are purists and don't like this much manipulation. I think its great, especially when you can 'save' a great image that is relegated to mediocre status by the background or other distractions.
I'll definitely post it...after my husband repairs my computer from the lightning damage!! See you soon..
