To achieve massive and creamy bokeh, one of the first things we learn is to use a wide aperture. But there are several other ways that might just as effective. Do you know them all?
How to fake realistic background blur in Photoshop in 3 simple steps
Shooting with 200mm f/2, 135mm f/1.8 and 105mm f/1.4 lenses is the dream of many portrait photographers. But such lenses are not inexpensive. We may only have a kit zoom that will never give us the look we really want. But, there are other options. Stop down for sharpness, then simulate that shallow depth of field in post. It won’t look quite the same as doing it optically, but it’ll can get you pretty close with a little effort.
In this video, Unmesh Dinda from Piximperfect shows us an easy way to simulate a shallow depth of field in Photoshop. The technique involves using a depth map. This tells various plugins how far away something is. This allows us to get that blur falling off as we get further from the camera. It allows you to get that soft blurry background in just three simple steps.
Dispelling myths on sensor size, crop factor, and depth of field
Nikon & Canon crop cameras have been out for over 15 years now. But different sized frames isn’t new to digital. Even back in the film days, we had 110, 126, 35mm, half a dozen sizes for medium format, and a few for large format. It still always amazes me how much the concept of capture size still confuses some people.
This video from photographer & YouTuber Blake Evans (aka biscuitsalive) hopes to dispel some of those myths and clear up the confusion. It does goes very in-depth into all the ins and outs of sensor size, focal length & field of view, as well as aperture & depth of field. So it may have you asking more questions than it answers!
Fake bokeh is finally here for all iPhone 7 Plus owners
iOS10.1 is here, and there are a couple of big photo related bits of news. First up, the fake depth of field effect is here. Love it or hate it, if you have an iPhone 7 Plus, you’ve got it. “Portrait” mode has met a mixed reception. Most don’t see it as a serious tool, although it may help to improve your iPhone-shot Instagram photos.
The feature has been available to Beta users for a little while now, and we showed you some side-by-side comparisons not too long ago. Now, it’s available to all. Portrait mode images don’t look too bad on an iPhone screen. We’ll probably see quite a few images shot with the feature popping up on social media in the coming weeks. I would expect the effect to fall apart pretty quickly on big prints, though.
DSLR compared with the iPhone 7 Plus
I think for most people, no matter how many comparisons or examples come out, the whole “actual camera vs smartphone camera” debate will never end. Every other new phone seems to be hailed as a “DSLR Killer” by social media. It’s only lately we’ve seen these sorts of claims from manufacturers themselves, though. It was a key selling point of the Huawei P9 and Apple say the iPhone 7 Plus shoots “DSLR quality pictures”. But does it?
We showed you some samples of the iPhone 7 Plus “portrait mode” recently, and many weren’t convinced. This video from Lee Morris over at FStoppers looks a little more in depth at the iPhone 7 Plus’ camera. He pits it against a DSLR in a bunch of different situations. Of course, it’s difficult to fairly compare a DSLR to any phone, given the vast difference in specs of today’s models. So, Lee chose to compare it with the 7 year old Nikon D300s.
Add depth to your images in 2 easy steps
So after the madness that was hurricane Photokina, I am trying to re-adjust to normal life, hence a short post for you this week, as my body and mind recover! This weeks post is focussing on creating depth in your images.[Read More…]
A guide to nailing focus and depth of field
Focus and depth of field are those kinds of topics that can quickly confuse newer photographers. When we’re just starting out, we think we know what it means, but our pictures are still blurred or everything’s too sharp and detailed and we don’t understand why.
In this video from Wolfcrow, filmmaker Sareesh Sudhakaran walks us through the basic principles of focus and depth of field in a very easy to digest manner.
How To Create Three Dimensional Space In Your Composites
Hey, just a really quick gloss over the basics of how to create three dimensional space in your composites.
I’m going to show you how to take your image from a boring 2D image like this, and turn it into a totally awesome 3D one like this (slide to see the impact of going the 3D and depth route)
Everything You Need To Know About Depth of Focus and Lens Equivalency
After learning about the history and science of lenses, and gaining some knowledge about the properties of modern lenses, it’s time to take a deeper look at depths of field and how it’s affected by sensor size.
Kick back as John Hess of Filmmaker IQ takes us on a 17-minute long journey through the optics, the terms and the calculations that will help you understand how depth of field works once and for all.
Use These 5 Tricks To Help Add Depth To Your Images And Video
The ability to create realistic depth in a photograph, a 2-dimensional plane, is the sign of a good photographer. When shooting stills or video, it’s an important detail to make sure your shots have depth. Sometimes, however, that is sometimes easier said than done. In the quick, 3-minute video clip below, cinematographer Matthew Rosen, covers his top 5 favorite ways to ensure his image aren’t falling flat. The video is geared towards cinematography and moving pictures, but many of the techniques can be transferred into still photography as well. Well worth a watch even if you never shoot video.[Read More…]
