How to use variable blur filter?

[greenmorpher]

I'm not sure I get it. How do you make the background on a photo blurred, while the foreground, e.g. a face, is not blurred?

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
Publisher, Editor, Business Writer
The Worsley Press

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[Hoogo]

You have to create a mask for your picture to describe the depth (or at least something similar to depth). Not a layer mask, the old fashioned, normal mask is used. All black or protected areas are not touched by the filter, all white areas are blurred with the full radius.

For a little test try this:
-Load a small picture (the filter really takes a while!)
-Press the "edit mask" button.
-Paint a blend from black to white. This creates a mask containing all values from black to white, so you can see the effect.
-Leave "edit mask"
-call variable blur.

For a real picture you will have some more work with creating the mask. It should basically the same like creating a mask for cutting out. Create a bw-picture that describes the "depth" using channel-mixer, brushes or whatever, and us "tool > Change channels" to move it into the mask.

[greenmorpher]

Aaargh, thanks, Hugo. Looks as though I won't be bothered with this -- the masking bit takes it out of me. I'll just use a line converted to a lasso to lift out the foreground object, blur the background in the usual way, then plug the foreground back in. A bit of work around the edges and we're laughing.

Much faster.

Or perhaps I ought to go back to film like me mate Wolf www.wolfboewig.de although he uses nothing longer than a 55mm so blurred background isn't a bit deal with his work anyway. Oh well!

What we need for this kind of stuff is one of the new Photoshop features that IS good -- that kind of general area selection that you do by just setting rough parameters.

It would be a bastard to program, I should imagine, though.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
Publisher, Editor, Business Writer
The Worsley Press

FREE Bonus book offer. Get "How to make great ads for (sm)all business" FREE when you buy "Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes?" or "How to Start and Produce a Magazine or Newsletter". Amazon or www.worsleypress.com

[Hoogo]

I'll just use a line converted to a lasso to lift out the foreground object, blur the background in the usual way, then plug the foreground back in. A bit of work around the edges and we're laughing.

This simple way of masking/cutting out will work with the variable blur, too, and the variable blur should save the work around the edges. The simple way will work fine for a bird on a branch and anything similar with a clear division between foreground and background. The variable blur will also work for a man on a street, where the street fades from fore- to background.

What we need for this kind of stuff is one of the new Photoshop features that IS good -- that kind of general area selection that you do by just setting rough parameters.

You mean "Extract"? Afaik it is banned from CS4 and hides somewhere on the install-dvd, waiting for those who like it. Have you tried GML matting? Works with PL, unless you have Win98 like me;)

[greenmorpher]

That's it Hoogo -- Extract or something like GML Matting. The latter won't work for me since I am on Mac and it is Windows specific. But hey -- it's a freebie! Be nice if the Hubers could do a deal to include the feature in the next upgrade of PL32. Or alternatively, write their own. I wonder how difficult that would be given that GML is giving it away.

I'm inquiring of Adobephiles I know about the fate of Extract. Did Adobe perhaps do something naughty?

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
The Ad Doctor Online

Win business with the recession-busting "How to make great ads for (sm)all business: 99 real world advertising ideas to kickstart *your* business today". See http://www.worsleypress.com

[greenmorpher]

Incidentally, Hoogo -- I can't actually imagine someone still working on Windows 98. That's 11 years old! I'm amazed you can even access the internet!

Seriously, a Windows-loving mate of mine was telling me just yesterday how good Windows 7 is, and how it hosts Windows XP for older apps, and all in all everything in the Windows garden is pretty lovely.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard
The Ad Doctor Online

Win business with the recession-busting "How to make great ads for (sm)all business: 99 real world advertising ideas to kickstart *your* business today". See http://www.worsleypress.com

[greenmorpher]

This might explain something, Hoogo

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/419560

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/418645

Cheers, Geoff