The best way to eliminate an unwanted backgroun?

What is the best way to post process out an unwanted background?

I shot an event. It was on the loading dock of a business. DOF could not be used because the (photo) subjects were too close to the background. Angles could not be used because every possible angle had unwanted background clutter. Masking cannot be used because the subject matter is just too complex. So what is the best and quickest way not necessarily to eliminate the bad background, but to deemphasize it and/or emphasize the subjects and draw attention to them? thanks, /Dan

I dunno if this would help, but it looks interesting. Thinking of trying it myself: http://www.dofpro.com/

CannedHeat wrote in post #3204094
The best way to eliminate an unwanted backgroun?

Don't place your subject in front of it.

cdifoto wrote in post #3204272
Don't place your subject in front of it.

Well, of course you're correct. However, in my original post I mentioned I was aware that the background was very bad at all angles and could not shoot angles or DOF that would eliminate it. I just assumed everybody would be able to determine that if I was aware of background problems and did nothing about it, I could not control the placement of the subject. Which I could not do. I guess I should have mentioned in the OP that I could not change the background nor the subjects. /Dan

gymell wrote in post #3204268
I dunno if this would help, but it looks interesting. Thinking of trying it myself: http://www.dofpro.com/

Yes, this does look interesting. I looked around the site and could not determine one thing. In the gallery it shows before/after samples and the masks used to achieve them. I could not determine if dofpro automatically created those masks. That's an important point, because if dofpro did not, and those masks with varying opacities were created manually, the same basic effect could be created without dofpro simply by creating the masks and using guassian blur. /Dan

Yes, you were quite clear about that. That second response was just a smarta** answer, maybe an attempt at being funny? Anyway, I saw some examples on the DOF Pro page with some cluttered backgrounds where they showed a before and after, and improved the isolation of the subject by reducing the DOF using the plugin. You can see these exampless in their photo gallery at http://www.dofpro.com/​photogallery.htm. I haven't used this tool at all, but am going to try it.

gymell wrote in post #3205181
I haven't used this tool at all, but am going to try it.

Would you mind posting your perceptions here? I would be especially interested in knowing how the application assists in creating detailed masks such as the sundial and statue on the example page. /Dan

They are using a depth map, similar to one you can produce for the Lens Blur Filter in PS. You can see this option in the top middle of the interface.

On the INFO page, if you scroll a third of the way down, it explains that "the user has to create the depth map manually". This is its advanced setting and is the best solution [Using depth maps].

I can't see how any software or plugin can automate this kind of process because you have to tell it where your subject matter is and isolate it from the other areas that need to blurred out. I guess some software may be able to "guess" by looking for uniformity in contrasted edges but then DOF extends across the focal plane and not just on a subject.

Pen tool. That's all you need. There's a steep learning curve, but once you get it, it will work on every image.

Extract tool in Photoshop.

dtplink wrote in post #3210138
Extract tool in Photoshop.

I also use the extract tool a lot as long as the foreground object has reasonably sharp edges. Some cleanup around the edges with the pen tool or eraser may be necessary afterwards.

rammy wrote in post #3208776
I can't see how any software or plugin can automate this kind of process because you have to tell it where your subject matter is and isolate it from the other areas that need to blurred out.

My thought exactly. That's why I was interested in the testing. I just seems to me, as I mentioned above, that if you are creating detailed masking manually with varying opaque levels, you wouldn't need to purchase a filter that probably doesn't do much beyond applying a blur. Creating those masks are the overwhelming majority of the work task. /Dan

P.S. - thanks for the other responses. I'll try those tools. /Dan

CannedHeat wrote in post #3208329
Would you mind posting your perceptions here? I would be especially interested in knowing how the application assists in creating detailed masks such as the sundial and statue on the example page. /Dan

I actually just started to use DOF Pro and I think it's pretty cool. The only thing I don't like is that the user has to create the depth map to tell the program how far away something is from the camera. It sounds difficult but it only takes a minute or so to do and the results are great. Some pictures need a more complicated map and others can use a really simple gradient map. I was going to make a post in this section to see if anyone else has used this program yet.

rparchen wrote in post #3210699
I actually just started to use DOF Pro and I think it's pretty cool. The only thing I don't like is that the user has to create the depth map to tell the program how far away something is from the camera. It sounds difficult but it only takes a minute or so to do and the results are great. Some pictures need a more complicated map and others can use a really simple gradient map. I was going to make a post in this section to see if anyone else has used this program yet.

Do you have Photoshop? How much more useful do you think it is compared to creating a depth map (alpha channel) in PS and then using the Lens Blur filter. I see no reason to "pay" for this if you already have PS.

rparchen wrote in post #3210699
I actually just started to use DOF Pro and I think it's pretty cool. The only thing I don't like is that the user has to create the depth map to tell the program how far away something is from the camera. It sounds difficult but it only takes a minute or so to do and the results are great. Some pictures need a more complicated map and others can use a really simple gradient map. I was going to make a post in this section to see if anyone else has used this program yet.

Do you some examples to share? I haven't downloaded it yet. Hopefully it would work with Paint Shop Pro (most PS plugins seem to) as I'm to stubborn and set in my ways to learn Photoshop.