One way would be to select the foreground you want to remain sharp, inverse your selection then apply gaussen blur from the filter menu. When making your selection be sure to feather it .
—
Have A Nice Day,
jwh 🙂
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http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview wrote in message
How do you blur the background and keep the foreground sharp.
Another approach, not necessarily any better, would be to create a duplicate layer and apply the gausian blur to that layer. Then, just use your eraser tool to erase from the duplicate layer where you want the image sharp.
When using this method how would you get rid of the sharp difference between blurred and non-blurred areas. I tried all three erasers and all settings as well as layer blend modes and can not get it to gradually blend between the two. I am sure I just overlooked something simple. Thanks.
—
Have A Nice Day,
jwh 🙂
My Pictures
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview wrote in message
Another approach, not necessarily any better, would be to
create a duplicate layer and apply the gausian blur to that layer. Then, just use your eraser tool to erase from the duplicate layer where you want the image sharp.
I found some brushes that appear to feather the stroke somewhat. How would I create a brush with more feather, say 5-12 pixels to use with the eraser?
—
Have A Nice Day,
jwh 🙂
My Pictures
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview wrote in message
When using this method how would you get rid of the sharp difference between blurred and non-blurred areas. I tried all three erasers and all settings as well as layer blend modes and can not get it to gradually blend between the two. I am sure I just overlooked something simple. Thanks.
—
Have A Nice Day,
jwh 🙂
My Pictures
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
wrote in message
Another approach, not necessarily any better, would be to
create a duplicate layer and apply the gausian blur to that layer. Then, just use your eraser tool to erase from the duplicate layer where you want the image sharp.
What I would do is:
1. duplicate the original layer (always work on a copy !)
2. duplicate again ( now you have 3 layers all the same)
3. blur the top layer
4. make a selection of the parts you don’t want blurred
5. feather the selection (Select>Feather)
6. delete the selected part
You will now have the top layer with the subject showing through from the layer below.
Hope this helps, Margaret
Another alternative would be to choose a soft brush for the eraser tool, and then drop the opacity of the brush to about 40 percent. That will allow you to feather your image.
Deborah,
Try this:
1.Create duplicate layer and call this layer Blur
2.With lasso tool outline foreground and feather this selection 3 pixels (select>feather)
3.Select>inverse from menu bar
4.Apply Gaussian blur 4 pixel setting (Filters>blur> gaussian blur)
5.Select>deselect
6.Can selectively remove any Gaussian blur effect not desired with eraser tool. Can adjust Gaussian blur effect in its totality as well.
Ken
Thanks to all of you who have responded with suggestions. I will try the various methods. This is all new to me so it’s nice to know there are knowledgeable folks out there to turn to.
Try this:
– Create a duplicate layer and call it "Blur"
– Use Gaussian blur to create the out-of-focus effect that you want on the "Blur" layer – Create a "levels" adjustment layer. Just click okay, don’t make any changes. – Drag the "Blur" layer above the adjustment layer. – Click on the "Blur" layer to make it the active one. – <Ctrl>-g will "group" the blur layer and the adjustment layer.
From bottom to top you should now have the original image layer, the adjustment layer, then the "Blur" layer. All of the layers should be visible. You will only see the blurred image, but stick with me.
The adjustment layer provides a sort of "layer mask". Select the layer mask by clicking on it. Now paint on the layer mask with black where you want the image to be sharp; painting over with white will reveal the "Blur" layer.
This method is more tedious, but gives you a lot of flexibility. Blur can be controlled by brush opacity. You can use a gradient on the layer mask, too. You can use this same method to blend any two images together.
Tony,
The technique which you have offered works great. Have copied it to my personal file for future use. Thanks.
Ken
Tony,
Your solution isn’t working out for me. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
Do I to apply the Gaussian blur to the entire "blur" layer?
The "levels" adjustment layer – is it a duplicate of the original image layer or the "blur" layer?
Thanks.
Wow, That worked great…I had been using a different technique with the gaussian blur that called for painting on the blur in lighten mode but I like this much better. Thanks for sharing that tip. Ieee488 Two ways you may be going wrong. Maybe you didn’t apply enough blur to notice a difference or you aren’t painting with black with the adjustment layer selected. This may sonnd silly but are you sure you have the paint brush selected.
Terri
Whoops my comparison was an apples to orange kind of thing. I was comparing Tony’s technique to dust and scratches repair. Duh, no wonder Tony’s technique made the one I was using look blurrier. It’s still an excellant tip that I plan to use. Seems I’ve heard this tip before but just didn’t catch on to the fact there was an adjustment layer involved.
Terri
No, the blur is definitely blurry. 🙂
and I am painting with black.
I applied the Gaussian blur to the entire layer to create the "blur" layer. I am still not clear on what the adjustment layer is suppose to be. Do I create a brand new layer with nothing in it? Or is it a duplicate of the original image layer?
I am use PSE 1 and not PSE 2, if that matters.
iee,
You must have the Layers Palette visible. Work on a copy, too.
You actually have the original background and a copy of it. The copy is blurred, all of it. The Adjustment layer… (go to the bottom of the Layers Palette, click on the blk/white symbol and choose any adjustment layer, like Levels). The thing is, don’t make any adjustments in this layer. Just OK it after it opens. So you have a totally blurred copy of your image at the top of the stack, a middle layer which is the adjustment layer and your original image at the bottom. You need to click on the top layer and then go to Layer>Group with Previous. This will allow changes to the present situation, which is that all of your top layer is visible and covers up the unblurred bottom layer. So to have portions of your image visible in their "unblurred" state, you just paint with black on the adjustment layer (which will be all white when you start). It is as if the black paint creates a window through which you can see the layer below.
wrote:
Try this:
– Create a duplicate layer and call it "Blur" – Use Gaussian blur to create the out-of-focus effect that you want on
the "Blur" layer
– Create a "levels" adjustment layer. Just click okay, don’t make any
changes.
– Drag the "Blur" layer above the adjustment layer. – Click on the "Blur" layer to make it the active one. – <Ctrl>-g will "group" the blur layer and the adjustment layer.
From bottom to top you should now have the original image layer, the
adjustment layer, then the "Blur" layer. All of the layers should be visible. You will only see the blurred image, but stick with me.
The adjustment layer provides a sort of "layer mask". Select the layer
mask by clicking on it. Now paint on the layer mask with black where you want the image to be sharp; painting over with white will reveal the "Blur" layer.
This method is more tedious, but gives you a lot of flexibility. Blur
can be controlled by brush opacity. You can use a gradient on the layer mask, too. You can use this same method to blend any two images together.
I tried this technique and it worked famously. The nice thing is you can use this technique not just for blurring/shrpening, but darkening or lightening selected image parts using layer modes. Much easier than the more complicated selection/quick mask/paths stuff I’ve been shown for some techniques. You can convert the mask to a selection for further adjustments or to see where you’ve painted.
Thanks.
JP
Nancy,
Thanks so much. It was your description about the black/white symbol in the Layers pallete that did the trick. Learn something new every day!!
Linda
iee,
Glad you got that solved. I would recommend three areas to study up on as they are fundamental to accessing the power of the program;
* the use of Layers. Understand the concept and always have your Layers Palette visible along the side of your workarea.
* the use of Adjustment Layers (the blk/white circle). A quick and easy fix to many images. Merely a Levels adjustment will dramatically improve an image because it broadens the tonal range of an image and it will look 100% better. Usually it is used to make sure the darkest parts of the image are really dark and the lighest areas are indeed light. Using the middle slider in an Levels Adj. Layer and sliding it left will lighten an image that is often spoiled by being too dark. The Hue/Saturation adjustment is excellent to make an image more colorful or to just bring out a certain color.
* the use of the selection tools. Being able to make an accurate selection is a necessary skill. It takes practice. Many times you will want to "lift" a subject out of the background to place it in another image, or isolate it in this way so as to make changes only to either the subject or the background
