Comments on: Creating Depth Of Field With Filters and Masks

By: Linda from Blue Bell Designs

Linda from Blue Bell Designs — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:21:33 +0000

Hey i really enjoyed this tutorial. There are times when I take a picture and I just didn’t get the DOF correct. Or I changed my mind after seeing it on my computer monitor. I love the ability to fake a nice shallow dof. So thank you Danny for sharing it.

i just wanted to mention that in step 1 you can also use cmd + J (or cntrl +J on a PC) to duplicate the layer.

By: Bryan Grant

Bryan Grant — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:55:36 +0000

In a perfect world while shooting portraits or weddings i could use a 1.2 or 1.4 50mm but for live subjects adding in DOF can be very useful. but i agree gradient tool is much better for creating this effect in a more “natural” way

By: alicelily

alicelily — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:48:35 +0000

I think you can use this sort of technique to really enhance a photo. I used it on this image (http://www.flickr.com/photos/_dandelion_/3529578012/) and i don’t think it looks too bad :s
You just need to work with what you have sometimes, i didn’t have the right lens for what i wanted on this shot so i created a similar effect.

By: Ash

Ash — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:01:35 +0000

Thanks for posting

This is a good back up plan for newbies like me who sometimes don’t get the dof right when taking the picture. T

By: joel

joel — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:38:15 +0000

Danny,

Thanks for the post & the tips. I am seeing similarities with post- HDR tonemapping techniques here, am I right?

Anyhow, it is a great alternative for the numerous changes that demanding media clients require after shoots are done.

Chi – what’s a “Noob” and may I use it freely? And – with all due respect – It is great to get both sides of the story here, but the “no”s gotta up the class a wee toddle…

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:26:34 +0000

@chi – Agreed.

I think that if you can do it in-camera, then do it; otherwise, this gives reader and out… a little forgiveness for previous shots they’ve taken. People get carried away with being over-critical when they should appreciate someone taking the time to post tutorials such as this. Yes, there is a way to do it without PP, but if you didn’t know how to do it PP, you do now. Thanks for taking the time to post!

By: chi

chi — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:00:37 +0000

you guys are way to uptight, the effect looks excellent to a person sitting down at that restaurant and ordering from that menu. Only photographers would be this anal about how it looks. This is exactly what it is, an effect created in PP if you jacked up your shoot the first time around.

It’s great that this site has technical people that can pick a tutorial to death. It really gives a noob like me both sides of the story. But to me and probably most of the other people ordering from this menu, this image looks great…definitely good enough to go on a menu, magazine or where ever. This is exactly what it is, an effect created in PP if you jacked up your shot the first time around or if you decided to change it

By: Jeannot56

Jeannot56 — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:36:34 +0000

This kinds of techniques can be useful. I use them for old scanned photos which become more interesting this way. Of course, if you’vfe got the choice, make the DOF with your camera, but if that possibility isn’t there, why not use postprocessing?
SOmetimes you can even do it easier, with just selection parts of the photo and using gaussian blur.

By: Keith Watson

Keith Watson — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:28:07 +0000

I used a similar technique to create a fake tilt-shift. http://www.flickr.com/photos/keith_watson/3369520851/

By: Mrs. Thompson

Mrs. Thompson — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:03:05 +0000

Personally, I loved the technique for what it is! I finally felt in control of where my dof was…which I’ve rarely felt using gradient masks. Thanks!!