artistic blur

July 10, 2015 by Kat

Simplifying a Scene with Slow Shutter Cam (Mobile Tutorial)

Photography is about lines and light for me. I love a simple graphic image, uncluttered by unnecessary details or a complex background. That makes photographing in the dense Oregon forest a challenge for me! Lately I’ve found using Motion Blur mode in the Slow Shutter Cam app, I can get the simplicity of the light and lines I’m looking for in the complex forest environment. Plus, it’s just fun to play with intentional camera movement!

So how does Slow Shutter Cam work? It’s pretty straightforward. The app takes multiple images during the exposure period, and then blends them together. How blurred your final image will be depends on the settings you choose as well as the motion you use when you take the photograph. You have lots of options in both settings and motion to experiment with.

When you open the app, you frame your scene and set focus and exposure. Nicely, you can tap to set focus and exposure similarly to ProCamera. I’ve found that overexposing a little bit often works best for my images, but you will want to play around with exposure settings yourself.

To change your blur settings, you can tap the aperture/iris icon in the lower left and a pop-up menu appears on the screen. I use Motion Blur as my capture mode, and then play around with Blur Strength and Shutter Speed as I take different images. Tap anywhere on the screen to close the menu when you are done adjusting your settings.

To take the photograph, tap the camera icon in the bottom center. Start moving your phone to get the motion blur on a stationery scene. The window in the top left will show the scene unblurred, while the rest of the screen shows what the blurred image looks like as you create it.

The image you create will depend not only on the settings in the app, but on how much, how fast, and what motion you use as you move the camera. Experimenting with types of motion (up/down, wiggly, circular, etc.), start/stop points, exposure, blur strength, and shutter speed will result in very different images. Below is an example of six different images of one scene. I will often take many more than this, changing the app settings and my motion to get a different result in each one.

Those are the basics for Slow Shutter Cam! Pretty simple, huh? The secret lies in experimentation with the settings and movement in this case, rather than complexity in the app.

The rest of the fun with these images comes later, when I sit down to edit. I will look through all of the images I’ve created and see which ones have the most potential. I’m looking at the light, the lines, and the impression the movement gives to the overall scene. It’s easy to be too blurred, or not blurred enough. You want the image to look artistic, not like a mess or an accident.

Once I’ve selected the image, I follow my normal processes of basic adjustments, artistic edits, and then blending to get the final image. For the image at the beginning of this post, here is the starting photograph, as captured by Slow Shutter Cam:

I wanted to focus in on a certain part of the scene, so I cropped and did some basic adjustments in Snapseed:

From there, I edited with Tangled FX, Classic Vintage and XnView Photo FX to alter color and texture, and then used Image Blender to pull the final image together.

The image is called “Awakening” and is one of my favorites so far in this forest series. I think the dramatic light and dark, along with the blur, work well to create a mood.

Your turn! Enjoy playing with Slow Shutter Cam and let me know how your experiments turn out.

February 22, 2013 by Kat

Playing with Mood

We’re heading in to our last week of studying Artistic Blur through post-processing for this month’s Exploring with a Camera, and I want to talk about mood. Underlying my pause this week has been a definitely moodiness. There is something more driving this need for a break; something is brewing, I can feel it. And it’s the happiest of feelings either, it’s a pent up, moody feeling. It’s a harbinger-of-change kind of feeling.

Yesterday when I sat down to create, that moodiness really needed to come out. Artistic Blur was my friend. Blending gaussian blur with the original image and textures helped me create the mood in this piece:

Even as I wanted to create a darker mood, this doesn’t strike me as a scary piece. There is still light and color. Just as I know there is light and color in whatever is brewing under the surface of this pause. I will end up where I need to be.

How is Artistic Blur in post-processing working for you? Have you had a chance to play around yet? Artistic Blur is a fantastic tool for expressing a mood. Let’s see what mood you are in.

February 15, 2013 by Kat

Adding Bokeh Blur

How’s it going with the post-processed Artistic Blur? Let’s check in on this month’s Exploring with a Camera, and see what you all have going on.

I must admit, I haven’t done a whole lot this week! I’ve been working on taxes. Ugh. My Mom arrives for a weeklong visit this morning, so I’m trying to finish it all up and remove these various piles of documents I have sitting around the house. My eyes have gone blurry, even if my photographs haven’t…

I did get a chance to play a little bit with adding background blur in post-processing apps this week. There are quite a few apps out there that add bokeh or blur effects. I have to admit, I’ve always thought adding bokeh blur after the fact to simulate depth of field can be kind of creepy. My eye has been trained to know what real depth of field should look like, and often the post-processed effects don’t match up with reality. Do you find the same?

With the depth of field limitations of the iPhone camera though, it’s nice to understand where I might be able to affect things, so I played around with the Bokeh Lens app, which I had downloaded free a couple of weeks ago. After trying it on a few images, I realized that in order to add this kind of blur in post-processing you need a situation where the distinction of sharp vs blurry would be obvious even in camera. A single object significantly in front of a distant background would work the best.

Enter this image, from a hike last Sunday. I love the “eyes” of the tree but realized my focus was off, with the sharpest thing being the tree behind the face tree. It’s a reminder that while the iPhone camera does not allow for a lot of depth of field, it does have SOME and you still need to get the focus in the right spot. In addition to focus, the contrast and relative isolation of that second tree kept pulling my eyes away from what I wanted as the focal point tree, the one in front.

Next step, blur the background in the Bokeh Lens app. The way this app works, you set the amount of blur you want, and the whole image is blurred that amount. You then mask off the area you want sharp, so I painted the mask on the foreground tree with the face. Not bad so far, huh?

After using any new app, I check the resolution using PhotoSize, to see if it saves full resolution files. You can’t tell just be looking at an iPhone or iPad screen whether it’s a high resolution image or not. Unfortunately, this app does not save full resolution or even medium resolution. It’s very low resolution, with no settings to change it. To get a decent resolution file for later use, I needed to blend the blurred image back with the original image to get an image. Blending the blurred image back with the original image gave some dreamy effects in the background, which I liked. I find the dreamlike quality of the background adds to the feeling of the forest watching you provided by the face in the tree. With a bit of color editing to add to the dreamy feel, here’s the final result:

The Watcher in the Forest

After doing all of this, I realized I could have saved myself a lot of this work if I had used my dSLR with a shallow depth of field to take the photograph. 🙂 But the end result, with that dream-like background, would have never have happened with shallow depth of field alone, so it turns out well I went through the processing. Not only that, I learned about when to apply bokeh blur and when not to, as well as learning I need to find a full resolution blur app! BlurFX is looking pretty good to me right now…

How about you? What post-processed Artistic Blur is working for you? Share it with us, by linking in below.

February 9, 2013 by Kat

Exploring with a Camera: Artistic Blur, Part 2

Hey, it’s Exploring with a Camera time! This month we are continuing our discussion of Artistic Blur, talking about adding blurry effects in post-processing.

My little break from routine, ditching my planned schedule to take a hike with our new dog Zoey yesterday morning, paid off in more ways than one. It was an opportunity to get out of the house and get to know Zoey a bit more, but it was also a foggy morning — wonderful for photography! I didn’t take too many photos, as I was more focused on working with Zoey on the leash, but I did capture a couple. This morning I processed this lovely image of trees in the fog, and it’s serves as an example of creating blur in post-processing for artistic effect.

Post-processing is a great way to get artistic blur, either by enhancing blurry effects we created in-camera or transforming a perfectly focused image into something altogether different. Let’s look at the different possibilities…

Textures

Artistic Blur is, at some level, about imperfection. One way to add some imperfection is to blend a photograph with a texture. The photograph takes on variations in both color and texture from the image it is blended with. I think this may be the most common way to add artistic blur in post-processing for many of us.

The image of trees in the fog, above, was blended with a couple of different textures as well as an artistic filter, “Chalk” from the AutoPainter II app. Another foggy tree image, below, uses a texture to further obscure the trees in the background. There is also some edge blur and vignetting, adding to the blurry effects.

The blending mode and opacity you choose when you combine a texture will have a strong impact on the final image. Do you find you use the same blending modes all of the time? Experiment with different modes, trying them with different types of textures and images, to see how they work. You can get some fantastically interesting effects just by varying your blending mode.

To use textures, you will need a software program that allows you to blend multiple layers. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements when I’m working on the PC and the Image Blender app on my iPad. You will also need texture images, which you can create yourself or download from the web. Here is a great link to a list of places to find free textures. What’s your favorite source? Share in the comments.

Multiple Exposure

If you can’t create multiple exposure images in-camera, you can creating them through blending after the fact. You can use either disparate, unrelated images, or similar images. For the tree image below, I blended three slightly shifted images. The clouds behind the tree were moving quickly, so my goal at the time of capture was to keep the tree in a similar place but mainly catch the motion of the clouds relative to the tree. The shift of the location of the tree within the frame made for an interesting form of artistic blur, when blended.

Here is another example of blur created with multiple exposures, although in this case the different exposures were created in post-processing as well. The original image of the tree was processed through the decim8 app, creating different versions where the branches were shifted relative to each other. The different versions were blended back onto the original, to create a digitized, blurry effect.

Blur, Blur and more Blur

Of course, there are all different types of blurring effects you can do in post processing. The standard allover blur effect is typically achieved using gaussian blur filter. From there, you can find many variations on the “blur” theme.

Gaussian blur, blended back with the original image, is often called “diffused glow.” It creates a very soft, dreamy effect:

Radial Blur which mimics zoom blur captured in camera:

Motion Blur mimics the impact of a long shutter speed with movement:

Edge Blur mimics a foggy or plastic lens:

Combining Effects

In many cases, combining both in-camera and post-processing blur effects create a wonderful artistic image. They both add different types of imperfections. I often will combine soft, foggy images with a texture, as shown above in a couple of examples. Another combination I like to use is a slow shutter in-camera combined with textures and/or painterly filters, in as the tree image below.

Tree branches blurred with a long exposure, almost become blowing grasses after painterly effects are applied:

The combination of multiple types of blur creates something artistic and truly unique.

One advantage of blurring effects added in post-processing is the ability to control the blurry effects. You often have options to mask regions of your photo from the effect, change the strength of the effect or move the origination point of directional effects. That can be nice, serving your artistic vision. The disadvantage is the blur can look mechanical because it is applied so consistently. So much for the imperfection that makes artistic blur so great! That’s why you have to try both in-camera and post-processing to create blur, to see which you like best. A combination of the two may even be your favorite way to add artistic blur.

It’s time to experiment! This month I encourage you to try at least one new type of blur in your post-processing, along with reviewing your favorite types of blur already. Share with us the results of your exploration!

January 25, 2013 by Kat

A Serendipitous Mess

Ah, the joy of creating Artistic Blur in camera! Have you tried it yet for Exploring with a Camera this month? If not, you are missing out on lots of fun. There is something incredibly freeing about creating with in-camera blur effects. A lot of time it’s a complete mess but, ah, when it turns out! It can be perfection. Messy perfection.

I had a serendipitous find in my iPhone this week along the lines of in-camera blur and messy perfection. I went for a walk in the forest on Wednesday, hoping to capture the freezing fog we’ve been having. As I walked up the road, I took a couple of photographs and left my camera on as I held it in my hand, hanging down at my side. When I stopped to take my next photograph and pulled the camera up to get ready, I saw this on the screen:

Whoa! I didn’t intend to take that. It was captured by accident, as I was walking along, with the ProHDR app open. Let me explain on this app works… ProHDR takes two exposures of the same scene, one for the highlights and one for the shadows, and combines them to give an image greater dynamic range. To use the app, you frame up your photograph and then tap the screen to start the process. You have to hold still for a while (it seems like forever) while the camera analyzes the scene and then takes the two images of the scene. After that, it combines the two and allows you to save or cancel. I must have accidentally tapped the screen as I was walking along, and the app analyzed the scene and took the two shots, automatically combining them. So I got this cool double-exposure-plus-motion effect in the final combined image, and, the best part, I accidentally discovered I could use this app for in-camera artistic blur effects!

My goal of photographs of the freezing fog went out the window as I explored this new creative possibility. I tried all sorts of different things as I moved the camera between the first and second exposure on the app to see how it would combine them together. Like any of the artistic blur techniques, a lot of experimentation is needed to get anything that looks good. After all of my play, I was never able to recreate the twisting effect of that accidental shot. (I have no idea what I was doing to get that. I must have been seriously swinging my arms around!) I did learn a couple of things though: The best images were those with quite a bit of light area in each exposure, so that when the two exposures overlapped you can see detail of both, and the second image seemed to be more dominant in the final image, because of the way ProHDR exposes and combines the two images.

Here are my favorite ones:

I’ve shifted color on all of these final images through other app filters, because I liked how the different colors highlighted different parts of the image and enhanced the feel. I played with a lot of filters and color options to choose the final image. I’ll also note on the second image, I had to do some cropping. My finger got in the frame so I cropped that out along with some other distracting elements. I don’t think you can expect to get a perfectly framed final image out of these types of techniques, so cropping is going to be your friend. Here’s the original to compare the difference:

This was all so. much. fun. I was filled with excitement and joy after this photo session, and later too, when I had time to play with editing. That’s what photography is all about for me – the joy I get from the process!

How is your exploration going with creating in-camera Artistic Blur? Have you tried it yet? If not, I encourage you to get out there and play! Find your own serendipitous mess. Kind of like fingerpainting, there is a joy to be found in the freedom of creating this way. Also, don’t miss the guest post from Jack Larson earlier in the week. He shared some other Artistic Blur effects and some wonderful images. You still have time, the link up is open through the end of the month.

January 23, 2013 by Kat

The Nature Mystic: A guest post by Jack Larson

Today’s post is by Jack Larson, a local photographer who shares my love of both trees and creating impressionistic images with his camera. He’s been sending me images and techniques via email since we started exploring Artistic Blur, so I asked him to write something to share with you all too. Jack’s enthusiasm always makes me smile. Enjoy!

Kat asked me to do a guest blog on “Artistic Blur,” the theme of this month’s “Exploring with a Camera” series. I am drawn to artistic blur, or what I would call “artistic effects”, for two reasons. First of all, we are drowning in gorgeous photographs. For the Fine Art photographer, a fundamental question is, “How do I create a photograph that we all have not seen a hundred times before?” Part of the beauty of the techniques that Kat mentions in her essay, plus some other techniques, is that no matter what the quality of the results, these techniques create unique outcomes that even the creating photographer cannot repeat. I like that.

Secondly, Kat mentions being drawn to “Impressionistic” photographs. I am what one might call a “nature mystic.” When I am in the field, I feel pulled through the lens into a mystical union with whatever is in front of me. Impressionistic photographs are the best that I can come up with to express what I feel at the deepest level. And I am always way more concerned about what my heart and soul feel than what my eyes see. In this, a word about Zen. Although I am not a Zen practitioner, Zen is the spiritual tradition that lies at the foundation of my photography.

Oh yes, there is a final reason for being drawn to these techniques; they are fun. If you don’t like to play, and play without concern about particular results, this kind of photography probably is not for you. But if you do like to play, you are in for a ball. Astonishment and surprise are around every corner. Try to hang on (and enjoy the ride).

Click and Drag This is the classic technique to create an Impressionistic look. I came across it first in the work of William Neill (the outstanding Yosemite photographer). Most cameras will do this (I use a Nikon D700). Set your camera to its smallest aperture and to its lowest ISO. This will enable you to use a slow shutter speed. If you cannot get a slow enough shutter speed for the effect that you want, put on a polarizer, or better yet, a variable ND filter. Then, hand-held, click the shutter and after a fraction of a second (this fraction of a second will create some definition in your subject); drag the camera in the direction that you want the blur to go (in the two examples, I clicked, held, and then dragged up). Check your results in your LCD. When you start doing this, you probably will find that you need to drag either slower or faster. As with all of the techniques, this one involves developing skill. If you fail at first, so what; do it again, modifying your technique. You can play with dragging the camera in all sorts of directions. If you want a pure abstract, don’t hesitate once you click the shutter.

Zoom I rarely use this, but it is great for giving a sense of speed. I use a tripod because of the control that it gives me in stabilizing the camera and lens. The way that I do it requires a zoom lens. Use pretty much the same settings as for Click and Drag. You can start with either the wide end or the telephoto end of the lens. When you click the shutter, zoom the lens to the opposite end. Then try it the other direction. You need to have your focal point set to the center of the apex of the zoom effect. More often than not, I end up needing to crop the image in post processing. The skill is in how far to zoom, how fast to zoom, how much to not zoom during the exposure to give definition. The toughest part is in getting the apex of the zoom where you want it.

Dancing (or Heebie-Jeebies) There is a feature in many Nikon DSLR cameras that allow you to take multiple exposures (up to 10) that are blended together in the camera after the last exposure is taken. You do this hand-held. You go to the feature in the Shooting Menu and set the number of exposures that you want to blend. Take an exposure; move the camera slightly and take the second exposure; move the camera again and take the third exposure; and so on. After the last exposure, wait, and voila! magic. This technique takes a fair amount of skill to get the results that you want.

Pin-wheel This technique also requires a camera that blends multiple exposures. You also need a zoom lens with a lens collar (the collar is attached to your tripod; this allows the camera to turn freely while the lens is stable). The wider the range of the zoom, the more fun. You set the Multiple Exposures feature to 10 and the lens to its widest focal length. The focal point needs to be constant throughout; this creates the center of the pin-wheel effect. Take a shot; twist the camera slightly and zoom slightly further out and take a second shot; keep doing this so that when you take your 10th shot, the lens is zoomed as far out as it will go.

Shooting Through This technique is something that I rarely use. When it works, it is very cool. You want part of what is in the frame close to the lens, and the part that you want sharp some distance away. A large aperture works best. Like the other techniques, experience is invaluable.

Filters and White Balance settings Although this does not all fit under the category of artistic “blur”, it is something that you can do in-camera to create an artistic effect. There are various filters that you can put on your lens: infrared, blur (not only blur filters, but you can smear vaseline on the front of the lens); etc., etc. You also can set your White Balance to create effect (in daylight conditions, a Tungsten setting will create a blue caste).

Singh Ray Gold-N-Blue filter

Tungsten White Balance

There are all sorts of other things that you can do to be creative in the capture phase of photography. These are simply the ones that I use. I would recommend checking out Tony Sweet’s books or tutorials.

Next month, you will be looking at creating artistic effects in post-processing. All of the above effects can be created in post-processing. I am not one who thinks that we need to do everything in-camera. Post-processing is as much a part of my creative work as it was for those who worked in a wet darkroom (such as Ansel Adams). Remember, play, play, play; and have fun!!

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