...at shooting something 100% on purpose (meaning I actually went out, bought the silly plant, set up everything, etc.) instead of shooting what suddenly appears to me (kind of like serendipity). I have to start somewhere, right? In addition to lighting, which I suppose is pretty subjective, I also need assistance with how to handle the whole "blur" thing. When I put on the gaussian blur filter, it seems TOO blurry to me, no matter how I adjust it, but maybe it's supposed to look like that. Since I obviously have little to no clue about what I'm doing, any helpful, tactful, constructive criticism will be thoughtfully appreciated.
I also need assistance with how to handle the whole "blur" thing.
I don't understand why you would want to blur these photos. I think they look great. If anything, I think they would look even better if they were a little sharper. Are you just trying to achieve a softer look, or..?
I also need assistance with how to handle the whole "blur" thing.
I don't understand why you would want to blur these photos. I think they look great. If anything, I think they would look even better if they were a little sharper. Are you just trying to achieve a softer look, or..?
Yes, soft was my goal. I guess that was wrong. Maybe I'll try sharp.
I don't know if it is an "accepted" method of softening, but I have developed my own version that seems to give a reasonably good effect. I wish I could post an example of what I mean (I can't, yet), but I can at least tell you what I do:
- Copy the original image and make the copy greyscale.
- The closer to white an area of the greyscale image is, the sharper the final image will be. The closer to black an area is, the more blurred the final will be.
- Adjust the greyscale image until you get the petals a very light grey, the background very dark, and overall, a lot of contrast. Iron out the dark dots on the petals so they also become light grey.
- On the original image, make a duplicate layer. (The next bit works in PSP, not sure about Photoshop.) Go to Masks > New > From Image and choose the greyscale image as the target. With any luck this duplicate layer should become most opaque around the yellow petals and most transparent in the background area.
- Now just Gaussian blur the background with a radius of about 10, and make any further adjustments you consider necessary. I pasted a copy of the original image as a new layer on top of the other layers and turned the opacity down to about 15. This was to bring back some lost details.
A simple way is to do a duplicate layer and apply Gaussian blur at around 20 or 30. Then reduce the transparency of the layer to the desired effect (usually 20% or so is good).
If you do not use a duplicate layer and work on your original you will loose the sharpness just like in your photos. :-)
Try this:
0.) Make sure your image is as sharp as it can be without being "oversharpened" (having sharpening artifacts that are visible)
1.) Apply a gaussian blur of 4px
2.) *Immediately* after applying the blur, select edit/fade gaussian blur and fade to 40% or thereabouts, depending on your taste.
Applying the blur on a duplicate layer does allow for more flexibility, but the above method is fast & easy and yields very nice results.
What I've tried with some success is a combination of what people have said here. Make a duplicate layer of your original and sharpen it as much as possible without over doing it. You'll have to play with the levels of sharpening until you get it right. Then duplicate THAT layer and apply the gausian blur to it at anywhere from 3 to 6 pixels. Then change the opacity of the blur layer to what looks good. Depending on the shot it may be from 15 to 60 percent opaque.
Not that I've had a LOT of success with it but have liked some of them. ;-)
Just out of interest, what are the differences between Portfolio and Workshop and can everyone see the picture I tried to post?
Workshop is a folder in your portfolio. It is hidden. If you put something in there, no one else can see it. It is a good place to put more than one challenge shot possibility to see what they look like on line. The only way someone else can see those shots is if you link to them directly (in the forums or elsewhere.) Because they are hidden they will not show up on your profile page as recent additions either. I sometimes put shots there that others have asked for editing help with so they don't show up on MY page.
