Layla

[reijo]

I would be interested in comments on the composition.
Reijo

[Ben H]

Impressive shot! I like the composition a lot - I guess the things I'd point out would be I'd perhaps like a little more contrast - and he should perhaps stand out from the background a little more, maybe with a background that's a little more blurred (this can be done in post of course).

But great shot, nevertheless - I like a lot...

[reijo]

I have photoshop CS3. How do I blur the background?
I know with viveza I can darken it considerably
Reijo


Impressive shot! I like the composition a lot - I guess the things I'd point out would be I'd perhaps like a little more contrast - and he should perhaps stand out from the background a little more, maybe with a background that's a little more blurred (this can be done in post of course).

But great shot, nevertheless - I like a lot...

[djKianoosh]

wow.. i love it. very majestic feel to it with the way you're looking up at the subject.

as for blurring in photoshop, it might be difficult because the fur is so close in color and tone to the background. i dont know if the smart selection tool could pick it up. well, once you have the background selected, you could just do a gaussian blur filter at whatever setting looks good to you.. the tricky part for me is always how to get a good selection.

[Marko]

I like the composition here, it works for me.

Blurring the background (for the future) is best done by simply choosing a large aperture.

[reijo]

I shot this at F11. Would f8 have been better? I was concerned about getting the dog in total focus!
Reijo

I like the composition here, it works for me.

Blurring the background (for the future) is best done by simply choosing a large aperture.

[Ben H]

Here's a really quick 5-minute example: (There's a bit of fringing on the edges that needs to be taken care of this way by cloning, but you'll get the idea)

http://www.benhall.co.uk/pics/layla.jpg

And yes, blurring in camera is the better way...

[reijo]

Can you tell me how you did this.I have been reading the manual in photoshop but it is not that clear
Reijo


Here's a really quick 5-minute example: (There's a bit of fringing on the edges that needs to be taken care of this way by cloning, but you'll get the idea)

http://www.benhall.co.uk/pics/layla.jpg

And yes, blurring in camera is the better way...

[Marko]

I shot this at F11. Would f8 have been better? I was concerned about getting the dog in total focus!
Reijo


I would have likely shot this at F-4 and I would have focused on the eyes. The whole dog would not have been in focus, it's true - but the end result would have been IMO, stronger.

This is an important test to do. take a similar shot with a person or the dog against a similar background. Take 1 shot at F2.8 or the largest aperture of you lens. Then take another at a medium aperture for your lens then take 1 more at the smallest aperture.

Examine the shots. You'll SEE the difference by comparing and that's the best way to learn. Hope that helps
Marko

[reijo]

Good idea. There is a problem with keeping the dog still. It was -20C at the time too! LOL!
I will try different settings each time I go out to test your ideas.
Thanks for the comments much appreciated. I am learning quickly.
Reijo




I would have likely shot this at F-4 and I would have focused on the eyes. The whole dog would not have been in focus, it's true - but the end result would have been IMO, stronger.

This is an important test to do. take a similar shot with a person or the dog against a similar background. Take 1 shot at F2.8 or the largest aperture of you lens. Then take another at a medium aperture for your lens then take 1 more at the smallest aperture.

Examine the shots. You'll SEE the difference by comparing and that's the best way to learn. Hope that helps
Marko

[Ben H]

Can you tell me how you did this.I have been reading the manual in photoshop but it is not that clear

As always in PS, there's often multiple ways to do things. For this, I used curves to up the contrast a little. Then duplicated the layer, and added a lens blur filter to blur the whole photo. Then add a black mask to this layer, and paint in with a soft white brush, which reveals the blurred layer background.

Just a quick 5 minute job - doing it properly would requie more attention to the dog edges, as some of the fur is fairly soft...