Here's an example of 'fixing' an image, aka "PhotoShopping".For those with new versions of PSE or the subscription version of PhotoShop, this example should be rather quick and easy. Being someone who leverages existing hardward and software investments to exhaust every last penny of value, I'm still processing JPEGs with PSE-10.
BackgroundThe original image, below, was captured on film using Ilford FP4+. This film is renowned for the 'sharp' details it will capture. I used one of my sharpest lenses on the camera. But, I also wanted a depth of field that covered the 'face' of this Grateful Dead Nite giveaway at Sox Park. Alas, the wider f/6.3 aperture didn't blur the background as much as desired.
(Original) Grateful Dead Night Photoshop ActionThe solution was a simple masking 'selection' of the skeleton from the background and application of a Gaussian Blur on the masked background. Then, I just merged the two layers back together and output the JPEG result.
Issues / Considerations
1, I might have applied even more blur to the background?
2, The 'selection' of the skeleton takes some practice in this ancient PSE-10 software. I'd expect newer software to make this a few-second process with little manual (human) effort.
3, The human also has to consider the pixel-width of where the two layers met so the merge of the two layers is subtle and natural.
Grateful Dead Night @ Chi-Sox by
Paul Sager, on Flickr
Final ThoughtsOther approaches exist to 'blur' that background, including:
a, Shooting in digital where I might have created more distance between the camera and subject and 'cropped into' the pixels to get the same framing.
b, Used a different background. Here was a marble counter top, but I could have found a solid dark sheet / paper background.
c, Other ideas the UHH community might suggest?