Photography Jealousy

[travelinswede]

... Do you ever get it?? No matter how much I feel like I'm growing, I stumble across someone else's work and think... how the heck do they do it?


Case in point... RoostBlog.com ...this woman is fantastic. Her photos of Italy make me want to cry!

Looking at images like these, what advice would you give to capture and create that soft, romantic look portrayed? Mine always come off too harsh, too snapshot like.

[autofocus]

I would say it's use of some, or all of the following:
*selective blurring in post
*using DOF to her advantage
*using a Lens Baby

You can try this: take an old skylight / UV filter (don't use the one already on your camera) and smear a little Vaseline on outer most part of the filter leaving the middle area clear of Vaseline. An inexpensive way to get that dreamy look

[christopher88]

Just google "create selective focus in photoshop" but it only really looks good when your some distance away and anything with buildings and people look awesome..like ur gondola pic.If you dont know its basically just a slight blur over whole image then mask off a thin strip across image so it is in focus,either horizontal or vertical...also the area In focus can be thin or wide and you also dont want a harsh drop off from im focus to not...a nice blend so one has to actually really look to find it.as far as the other images thats all in what you want to portray...maybe try to copy one of her shots with different items and get a feel for why she may have composed it that way..its not easy getting inside someones brain but I totally can identify with you as I feel the same way about certain gifted photographers.in awe.Take plenty of pictures and try new things while your snapping away because its so different when in the moment vs looking at images at home.

[bedor]

hey man.. i really understand your frustration... maybe you could just write her and ask? i mean... if you tell her a bit about your photography ambitions and you wondering how she shot these pictures, i´m sure she will share that info or at least give a hint.

[EmyB]

The first two shots look very much like the "miniature effect" creative filter from the Canon 60D....

And I feel your pain! Although I am a TOTAL newbie I still get huge pangs of some negative emotion ?jealousy?anger?envy when I see someone else out and about with a camera. Damn them, they're taking MY pictures!! Very odd emotions.

[John Hendry]

Originally Posted by christopher88

Just google "create selective focus in photoshop" but it only really looks good when your some distance away and anything with buildings and people look awesome..like ur gondola pic.If you dont know its basically just a slight blur over whole image then mask off a thin strip across image so it is in focus,either horizontal or vertical...also the area In focus can be thin or wide and you also dont want a harsh drop off from im focus to not...a nice blend so one has to actually really look to find it.as far as the other images thats all in what you want to portray...maybe try to copy one of her shots with different items and get a feel for why she may have composed it that way..its not easy getting inside someones brain but I totally can identify with you as I feel the same way about certain gifted photographers.in awe.Take plenty of pictures and try new things while your snapping away because its so different when in the moment vs looking at images at home.

Hi Thanks for the information will have a look want to use it with newborn babies

All the best

[vainqueur]

Originally Posted by EmyB

The first two shots look very much like the "miniature effect" creative filter from the Canon 60D....

And I feel your pain! Although I am a TOTAL newbie I still get huge pangs of some negative emotion ?jealousy?anger?envy when I see someone else out and about with a camera. Damn them, they're taking MY pictures!! Very odd emotions.

FYI, Olympus created these effects many years before Canon and Nikon said creative filters are for amateur.

[EmyB]

Originally Posted by vainqueur

FYI, Olympus created these effects many years before Canon and Nikon said creative filters are for amateur.

I don't really understand your sentence... Canon and Nikon said they were for amateurs??

Anyway, no need to get snippy. Obviously it's not a brand new invention, as evidenced by chris88's post above describing the method manually. This particular blogger just uses this effect quite a bit on her website, and I was merely commenting that may be what is used.

[paulkaranik]

you can always create a duplicate layer, blur it, and apply a layer mask to combine the 2 images...but yea get urself a fast lens and isolate your subject! its usually less distracting especially when you frame and expose your shot correctly! those are nice..

[Glayva]

Hi
Yes these are very emotive images and many photographers create these as a way to express their individuality. How often have you heard someone say, "I can always tell it's a so and so's image?" Even the great Ansel Adams developed a style that was always recognisable.

There are a number of plug ins from the likes of On-One and Nik Software that can be integrated into Photoshop that will produce images very close to these. I have used them to produce very similar effects. A little desaturation, slight lens blur, vignette, glow effects can all be used to create images like these. However, a good composition correctly exposed is the first priority.

Take a look at my blog, go to bottom of page, keep going back in uploads until you see the images I took of Katia at the Sao Domingos Copper Mines. I was trying to produce a "copper" look to the images which I did with NIK and a bit of PS. Good luck.