Skip to Main Content
Photoshop CS3 Photo Effects Cookbook
book

Photoshop CS3 Photo Effects Cookbook

by Tim Shelbourne
December 2007
Beginner to intermediate content levelBeginner to intermediate
176 pages
11h 25m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Photoshop CS3 Photo Effects Cookbook

Recipe 7.2. Soft focus and selective depth of field

Soft focus is the classic way to create romantic portraits. In camera this is achieved by the use of special softening filters, but the same effect can be achieved very simply in Photoshop. Soft focus is not simply blurring an image, as we need to preserve the detail while adding an overlay of romantic softening that creates wonderful halos around highlights.

Selective focus, on the other hand, is a recipe we can use in Photoshop to recreate convincing depth-of-field effects, where there is an increasing fall-off of focus in front of and behind the main subject or focal point.

This wonderful pictorial device has great power when it comes to directing the viewer's attention. There are two ways of achieving this in Photoshop. We can simulate selective focus manually, with the Gaussian Blur filter and a layer mask, which can do a pretty good job. Alternatively, in Photoshop CS3, we have the new Lens Blur filter, which can simulate selective focus with stunning accuracy and realism. We'll be looking at both methods here.

Soft focus

1 Open the image and duplicate the background layer by dragging it to the "Create a new layer" icon in the Layers palette. Blur this duplicate layer, using Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Use a Blur radius of anywhere between 30 and 50 pixels. The higher the setting, the more pronounced the effect will ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

Photoshop CS6: The Missing Manual

Photoshop CS6: The Missing Manual

Lesa Snider
Photoshop CS A-Z

Photoshop CS A-Z

Peter Bargh

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780596515041Supplemental ContentCatalog PageErrata