pphelp, please!

[nwyman]

after two years of trying, I finally get a co-operative kingfisher. I really like this shot, but need to blur the background. Can anyone refer me to a link, or give easy instruction?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1157/1464552440_a14237b09a_o.jpg

or, if anyone feels the shot isn't worth the trouble, tell me that also.:lol:

[canonloader]

Congratulations Nance. I would have made a tighter crop off the original. And I forgot what program your using, but CS2 has a blur brush tool. :)

[nwyman]

Congratulations Nance. I would have made a tighter crop off the original. And I forgot what program your using, but CS2 has a blur brush tool. :)


Sheesh - I've always felt that I tend to make too tight of a crop. That's at 50%. And I'm still struggling with Photoshop Elements 4.0 and three "help" books that only confuse me more. But I'll play with the brush tools I have and see what happens.

[aligater]

The shot was MOST definately worth it.
What settings/gear did you use......lens,focal length and apeture.

[busbyea]

Use your Magnetic Lasso Tool and outline your Kingfisher & perch (Whatever you don't want to blur);

Once selected, go to "Select" Menu; and pick "Inverse"

then go to "Filter" menu and select "Blur" - "Lens Blur"

Congrats by the way...

[sugarzebra]

Hi Nancy....nice shot of the Kingfisher. Its always a nice feeling just to see one let alone getting one to pose for you. Here is a quick edit, done as Ted suggests only I used Gaussian blur instead of lens blur. Also the BG was desaturated a bit to bring more attention to the Kingfisher.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w90/sugarzebra/kingfisher-1.jpg

[aligater]

Nice pp.

[nwyman]

The shot was MOST definately worth it.
What settings/gear did you use......lens,focal length and apeture.


'twas the 40D, with the 100-400 at f/13, tv 1/400, -1/3 EC. I've been using the auto ISO setting on the camera, which decided to use 800.
Left to myself, I'd probably have gone with an ISO setting of about 200, if not 100. Would like to have tried that, but these guys don't stick around long, and he'd been most patient with me as it was.

[nwyman]

Use your Magnetic Lasso Tool and outline your Kingfisher & perch (Whatever you don't want to blur);

Once selected, go to "Select" Menu; and pick "Inverse"

then go to "Filter" menu and select "Blur" - "Lens Blur"

Congrats by the way...


thank you, Ted! I'll try that first. This will be a brave new adventure in the world of processing.

[nwyman]

Hi Nancy....nice shot of the Kingfisher. Its always a nice feeling just to see one let alone getting one to pose for you. Here is a quick edit, done as Ted suggests only I used Gaussian blur instead of lens blur. Also the BG was desaturated a bit to bring more attention to the Kingfisher.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w90/sugarzebra/kingfisher-1.jpg

than you, Scott! I'll give that a try as well. Gonna' be a long night - we have our old geezers photo roundtable tomorrow night, and I'd love to be able to contribute this.:lol:

[sugarzebra]

than you, Scott! I'll give that a try as well. Gonna' be a long night - we have our old geezers photo roundtable tomorrow night, and I'd love to be able to contribute this.:lol:

Have fun playing around with the PP...its actually a lot of fun. Experiment lots, but make sure you have a saved copy of the original that doesn't get messed up :) If you don't have any good Photoshop books, anything by Martin Evening or Scott Kelby is very good.

[hTr]

Congrats On the BKF Nancy, Looks great!!!

[nwyman]

okay - here's my first finished attempt at this sort of thing. Hope it looks okay here - I might just be tired of looking at it!
Thanks for all the assistance.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1326/1464107449_4c8d64bf51_o.jpg

[busbyea]

You got the hang of it; As Scott said...Keep Playing.

[guitarman3]

Nice shot! Those guys don't hang around long usually as was mentioned. I hear them a lot more than I see them. Good pp--you might try a little more sharpening on the bird and the perch.

[Howler-Cat]

Here's a good video tutorial link (http://www.layersmagazine.com/sharpen-and-blur-selectively.html) on sharpen and blur...basicly, you can apply these techniques to your photo! Good luck!

[nwyman]

Here's a good video tutorial link (http://www.layersmagazine.com/sharpen-and-blur-selectively.html) on sharpen and blur...basicly, you can apply these techniques to your photo! Good luck!


wow. So much to absorb. Thanks for this link - I will tuck it away for future use.

[S.Horton]

Very nice capture!

[dancad]

Next time use a bigger aperture (smaller f-number, such as f/6.3 or 7.1). The BG will be blurred in-camera instead... :-)

[nwyman]

Next time use a bigger aperture (smaller f-number, such as f/6.3 or 7.1). The BG will be blurred in-camera instead... :-)

well, Daniel, I know that. :)

But with the new 40D, and using the AUTO ISO setting, I was getting too much light. It was easier to change the aperture to 13 than fiddle with the ISO setting on the LCD screen on the top of the camera.
The problem with bird photography (at least for me) is that I never know just how long the subjects will hang around.

But thanks for the suggestion.

[canonloader]

You should stick to Av Mode when shooting birds. Everything is set by you, leaving only the shutter speed up to the camera. You don't want the camera setting ISO or aperture. ISO can introduce a lot of noise and aperture can go to a f/stop that isn't sharp on your lens. Only you should control those. :)

[nwyman]

You should stick to Av Mode when shooting birds. Everything is set by you, leaving only the shutter speed up to the camera. You don't want the camera setting ISO or aperture. ISO can introduce a lot of noise and aperture can go to a f/stop that isn't sharp on your lens. Only you should control those. :)


I was IN AV mode.
In the future, I'll be more wary of the ISO setting - most of my troubles this summer were due to lack of adequate light, and the inability of my XT to get high enough shutter speeds. So I've been indulging in this little feature of the 40D. Of course, today had some of the brightest, clearest light I've seen in awhile. Just didn't have the brains to change the setting. Duh.