Any idea how to get a shot like this ?

[tuumbaq]

I came across this images ( and many others actually but this was the first one) and I'd like to know how to achieve this effect.Im hoping its some post processing technique.

Heres the image shot by Jay Eads:

new old favorite on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I get he part where he used a large aperture to get a shallow DOF but I dont understand how he managed to get part of his subject perfectly sharp and other areas of her face has soft edges,almost blurry but not out of focus blurry.


Here's another one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayeads/3317373427/

It seems to be some kind of vignetting/Lomo effect but I could be wrong on that.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

[Murtasma]

These may have been taken with a Lens Baby lens. The EXIF data is incomplete, the focus is soft and the depth of field is often shifted around.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

These may have been taken with a Lens Baby lens. The EXIF data is incomplete, the focus is soft and the depth of field is often shifted around.

That, or a true-blue tilt-shift lens with both tilt and shift dialed in. Essentially the same thing. Though the missing EXIF does make yours more plausible.

[inkista]

The second image was taken with the EF 85mm f/1.2L on a 5D wide open, according to the EXIF. Sorry, for this, you need the glass and supreme focusing skills.

The first one, I'm willing to bet was done with a mask and blur in Photoshop. Too specific control of sharpness and blur of areas at the same distance from the camera to be done by a lens. Just my guess.

[nathanbarlow]

hope im not being too cruel here, but the angle of shooting combined with the sharp central face and soft edges of face (particularly the chin) really accentuates her nose . . . .

From looking at the technique, I would agree with the person who said its due to the f/1.2 - that is an insanely small DoF, plus shot quite close (only a 85mm) so the plane of focus would be further decreased.

There might be a bit of gaussian blur or something, but there is a whole set of these, and I doubt the photog would have PP'd 18 images with the same effect? I'd be inclined to say it is the f/1.2 L glass doing that.

[nikeskate875]

I just looked at his groups on where the photo was posted on flickr and it looks like he did something called "free lensing"

Free Lensing - Photos taken with the lens detached from the camera but held in place and moved around to focus. This also lets extra light in sometimes causing light leaks and giving a vintage look and feel.

Also:
* Gives extra bokeh by shrinking the area in focus (apeture is 0)
* Allows for super macro shots
* Delicious light leaks
* Tilt-shift effects

Here's the group link as well Flickr: Freelensing

[tuumbaq]

Wow , thanks everyone for the replies, I going to look into that free-lensing technique

[nikeskate875]

Originally Posted by tuumbaq

Wow , thanks everyone for the replies, I going to look into that free-lensing technique

If you find anything out about it, I'd love to know as well it looks really interesting

[nikeskate875]

I started a thread in that flickr group I posted on how to do this effect and how far away to hold the lens and I got a response a few days ago

lukeroberts says:

You don't need to hold the lens too far away, unless you want to get light leaks.

If you just want the tilt-shift effect, you can just detach the lens, but hold it in place against the camera, then slightly move the lens left, right, up or down. It's easier if your camera has a "live view" so you can see what it looks like, but it's not too much harder with the view finder.

You only need to move the lens a few millimetres (fractions of an inch), and doing it this way, there's really no risk of dust getting in to the sensor.

If you want lightleaks or the super-macro kind of effect, you will need to hold the lens a little bit further away. Probably no more than a finger width, though. The image will be less defined and less sharp the further away the lens is, though.

For light leaks, I've found it's best to be in a fairly dark room, with a big window in front of you. This lets the outside light get in to the camera (i.e. no through the lens, but just going straight in to the gap between the lens and the camera) but limits the ambient light getting in and making the photos less defined.

Hope that helps!

[MWerner]

All I know is that the girl in the first picture has fabulous taste in jewelry. ;-)