Step 1: Duplicate layer.
Open your image and create a duplicate of your background layer by right clicking on it and selecting Duplicate Layer. Working on the duplicate, makes it possible to revert to the original should we make any mistakes along the way. With the Model layer active, create a new layer mask by clicking on the white circle inside a grey rectangle at the bottom of the layers palette.
Step 2: Make your layer mask channel visible.
By default, when you apply a layer mask, the mask channel is invisible. Making it visible will place an overlay of our mask on top of our image, which will help with creating and editing the mask. Click on the Channels tab and click in the box to the left of the Model Mask channel to make it visible.
Step 3: Choosing the correct mask.
To create the narrow depth of field, we need to use the reflected gradient mask. Select gradient by pressing G and ensure that your foreground and background are black and white respectively. In the gradient options, chose foreground to background and reflected gradient. Keep Mode set to Normal and Opacity at 100%.
Step 4: Placing the gradient.
To place your gradient, think about the plane you want your sharp focus on and imagine a line across your image. Place your cursor on your imaginary focal plane and then click and drag a line at 90o to the plane approximately a quarter of the length of the image. A red gradient overlay will appear. The deepest red represents the sharpest focus, dropping off through the gradient. Re-draw the gradient until you are happy.
Step 5: Apply the Lens Blur filter.
To apply the filter, click the Channels tab and ensure the RGB channel is active. Click Filter > Blur > Lens Blur to open the preview window. Make sure Depth Map Source is set to Layer Mask and then set the Iris options to Shape: Hexagon and Radius: 30 leaving all other settings at default. Your preview pane will show the effect. If you’re happy, click OK or cancel out to redraw your gradient
Step 6: Reveal your image.
To remove the red overlay, click the Channels tab and make the Model Mask channel invisible by clicking on the eye icon. This removes the mask overlay and shows the full effect of the Lens Blur filter on the image and makes it easier to amend your mask using the brush tool if you need to.
Step 7: Refine your mask.
Now we see the full effect of the mask, we can look if there are any areas that need to be in sharper focus or more blurred. To add focus to an area select the Mask Channel then click the Brush tool and choose a soft brush at about 50% opacity. Carefully brush over the desired area with a black brush to reveal sharp focus. To remove focus, use a white brush.
Step 8: Saturate the scene.
Brightening the colours will help to increase the model effect by making the whole image look more like plastic. Click Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Saturation/Hue and adjust the Saturation slider to suit. Now make a new Layer Adjustment for Brightness/Contrast and set your Brightness and Contrast.
Step 9: Amend Shadows and Highlights.
Finally we will edit the Shadows and Highlights. Click Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight and check the Show More Options box. Set the Shadows and Highlights options to finish off the effect.
Step 10: Crop and save.
To add to the illusion that your scene is a model, crop out the majority of the sky. Cropping to a ratio of around 5:4 is a good idea as this is traditionally the aspect ratio of a large format negative, but you can crop however you want.
So that's it. An easy way to make your images look like miniature models.
This technique works best with landscapes shot from an elevated position as the perspective helps to add to the illusion of a miniature scene.
No comments:
Post a Comment