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Let's just do something
really simple this week. I have had the task of taking a number
of photos for work these past few weeks as we ramp up the launch
of our new web site. I wanted to take photos without a ton of
work, so I worked this simple little trick to make it look as
though I know what I am doing.
Now I am by no means a skilled photographer. In
fact, I would say I am terrible at it. However, with Photoshop,
that's just fine with me. I can often make things look much
better inside the computer than I ever could with a camera
alone.
The trick is to shoot a subject (a person, a
dog, a car etc…) with a distant background. We are going to
create the effect of focusing on the subject, but having the
background be blurry as though we were taking it with a real SLR
camera. I have a Nikon Coolpix 995 that I am in love with, but
any old camera will probably do.
Take a shot of something you like with a nice
distant background. See the image below as an example.
Now you should take out your blur tool. See the
image below if you don't know what that is. It is the object on
the top that is shaped like a drop of water. It is in a flyout
menu that is on the middle left of your tool palette.
With a decent size brush and the pressure set to
about 50%, brush the blur tool in the areas around your subject.
Now I have to admit that this is not the best
example I have ever done, but for simplicity's sake, it will do.
Basically I just brush a bit and then if it looks bad go back in
your history palette a bit and try again. It always pays to go
back and do things over again. That's part of the fun of
Photoshop.
Try a few. You can probably find tons of photos
around the house that you can use. Hopefully you have a scanner
around, but if not, stop by a Kinkos or something and have them
run them for you. You probably have a friend that can help you,
or maybe you have a scanner at the office. Or you can use the
old digital camera to do all the work for you. That's my
personal approach and I like the instant satisfaction. |