Saturday, August 28, 2010

Coffee With Morgan: Giveaway Winner and Tutorial on Faking Bokeh

I just wanted to announce the winner of Morgan's Newborn Workshop!

It is #144, Aapree:

"I'd love to see more on textures! Thanks for all the helps! It really has given me a good foundation to my photography and editing! Thanks for the chance to win! aapreefrogg@hotmail.com"

Congratulations! I will send you an email with the details. :-) 



Sometimes it just doesn't happen, you don't get the great bokeh....so sometimes you have to fake it!

You start by opening up your image and making your adjustments in RAW. Once
you have that completed you will select your magnetic lasso tool.

Using your magnetic lasso select your subject, it doesn't have to be perfect.


Once you complete the subject from beginning to end you will see the "marching ants"

Then you want to utilize your refine edge option

In PS you will have a brush that comes up, adjust the size and paint around the subject, also doesn't have to be perfect.
(PSE users you do have this but not exactly the same, you will have to adjust sliders, set your feather to 3-5 and play with the rest)

Then duplicate the layer. 
Ctrl+J

You will repeat using your magnetic lasso, and refining the edge just as before but on your background layer.
Then you will select the inverse so that you are grabbing the background without the subject.

Then you will duplicate the layer.

So now you have your background (original), your background without subject, and your subject only.

You will want your background without the subject layer selected and you will run a gaussian blur.

I find 10-13 to be a great natural blur.

Now you want to add a layer mask so that you can perfect it.
There is a great layer mask action over at CoffeeShop.

Next I paint away, using my soft black brush first at 100 % opacity, then at 50%, then 25% so you get a natural taper.
Black - I used 100%
Red - I used 50%
Green - I used 25%
all using the soft black brush


Enjoy, I can't wait to see your fake bokeh!

Meet Morgan! I am from a small town in southern Texas, but now live in central Texas, Fort Hood/Killeen area to be more specific. I am a stay-at-home mom and do photography in my spare time. I am married to a wonderful man that I was lucky enough to meet and be able to spend my life with. We have two beautiful children, Payton 4 years old & Amelia 1 year old. The thing I love the most about photography is that you can take an intangible moment in time and make it last forever. I don't have any formal training, I just learn from experimentation and research.
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2 comments:

  1. I had no idea what bokeh even was until now! I love this. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, i just read through your tutorial on faking bokeh. i followed along in PSE 8 up until the end where you are supposed to use a soft black brush to blend. i'm confused...is that on the layer you blurred? what mode should the brush be on in PSE? what i did just made black marks around my subject in the blurred layer. could you clarify for me? what layer? how many pixels should the brush be set at? and what mode? then do you blend out from the subject? i'm assuming...

    thanks for your tutorial, and the additional help for those of us who don't quite get it! :)

    ReplyDelete

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Rita