Rare pierces Posted December 28, 2012 #1 Share Posted December 28, 2012 C.C.P.I.C.S. Cruise Critics Photo Instruction and Creativity Series(No direct sponsorship by Cruise Critic or any employee therof.) It's been a loooooong while, hasn't it? This new article was triggered by a question about a photo I posted and I thought a little basic PS Elements tutelage was in order. Adding special effects should always be approached with caution because the fine line between a pleasing effect and a garish horror is easy to cross. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough showing how to apply a radial blur effect using the Elements software. I used Elements 10 for the illustrations, but they hold true for all versions back to 7 or 8. Link to the article: http://pptphoto.com/ArticlePages/Class8.htm As usual, feel free to post any questions. Dave Class 1 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=791007 Class 2 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=807836 Class 3 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=824433 Class 4 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=835827 Class 5 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=848866 Class 6 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=874451 Class 7 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1411883 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awboater Posted December 28, 2012 #2 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Nice effect. Its great you are sharing your knowledge with others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoff Posted December 29, 2012 #3 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Nice article, Dave. Thanks for taking the time. larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Posted December 29, 2012 #4 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Thank you for posting this! I am currently trying to teach myself Photoshop Elements (11). It's not as easy as experienced people make it look!:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johneeo Posted December 29, 2012 #5 Share Posted December 29, 2012 C.C.P.I.C.S. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough showing how to apply a radial blur effect Thanx for that, great step by step tutorial. The only difficulty was zeroing in on the center of the area that I wanted "not blurred", lots of trial and error. Is there a better way to zero in on the area that you want as the center? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pierces Posted December 29, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Thanx for that, great step by step tutorial. The only difficulty was zeroing in on the center of the area that I wanted "not blurred", lots of trial and error. Is there a better way to zero in on the area that you want as the center? Not that I've found... I agree that it's kind of a pain! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johneeo Posted December 30, 2012 #7 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Not that I've found... I agree that it's kind of a pain! Dave Kinda figured that. OK ..... next question. Is there a way to increase the size of the center area that is to be "unblurred"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pierces Posted December 30, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Kinda figured that. OK ..... next question. Is there a way to increase the size of the center area that is to be "unblurred"? Short answer...no. Long answer...yes, in roundabout ways. The easy one is to use the eraser with a large feathered edge to erase some of the top layer from the center before you flatten the image. Set the eraser shape to Soft Round and adjust the opacity to less than 50% to give you finer control over hoe much you remove with each pass. This second one may actually work for re-centering the zoom origin now that I think of it. Use the rectangular mask tool to select and cut your entire image from the background. From the Image menu, choose Resize > Canvas Size Enlarge the canvas to about double it's current size and paste the image back onto the now larger background (do not re-size your pasted image). Find the center of the image by making a cross with guidelines. (View menu Rulers or Ctrl-Shift+R to show rulers, click on each of the two rulers and drag the guideline out to where you want it.) Position the image layer with the origin point for the blur on the center cross point. Doubling the size of the canvas gives you a lot of room to adjust the original image over the center. Once positioned, duplicate your image layer and apply your blur filter to the top copy (no need to adjust the center since you adjusted the position of your image). The un-blurred center point should be larger since it is based on the canvas size now and the origin will be the spot on your image under the crosshairs. Set transparency of the top copy and flatten the image Use the rectangular mask tool to select your original image area from the larger background and choose Crop from the Image menu. You image will now be back to its original size with the blur larger than before and where you want it. Try it out! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoff Posted December 30, 2012 #9 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I agree that getting the center of the little blur control exactly where you want is all trial and error. However, there is a way to make that center un-blurred area larger to give you a little more latitude, and maybe add other cool effects. Create a “Layer Mask” on the new layer you created for the blur. To do that click on the rectangular icon with the circle in the center on the bottom of your layers panel. (The lower red circle on the image below.) That adds a mask to that layer. Activate that mask by clicking on it. (The white rectangle in the upper red circle.) Then with your paint brush tool, set the color to black and paint black on the areas you do not want to be blurred. (You will not see the black paint on your image. You are masking the blurred layer to show the original layer below it.) If you paint too much or want to change the area, change the color of your brush to white and simply paint white over an area. That will cause the blur to show through again. Ergo: Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boeckli Posted January 19, 2013 #10 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Tried it out ... here are the results .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pierces Posted January 19, 2013 Author #11 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Tried it out ... here are the results .... Nicely done! Elements is a real bargain when you see what it can do with a little practice! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boeckli Posted January 19, 2013 #12 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Nicely done! Elements is a real bargain when you see what it can do with a little practice! Dave Thanks Dave! I think it can be quite addictive too ... (like CC) ;) Uschi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Posted March 3, 2013 #13 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I'm just finishing up an Elements 11 on-line class, and I finally got brave enough to attempt this. I struggled a little bit with my results at first, then I realized that I needed a more colorful picture...after that things got much better. I added radial blur to this photograph using two different techniques. The first was the technique Dave shared in this lesson, and the second was a technique I learned in my class. Original Photograph: Technique from this lesson -- Radial Blur 85%: Technique from my class -- Radial Blur 75%. This was created by selecting the part of the photograph I wanted to be in focus, then selecting the inverse before I applied the Radial Blur. I think it's interesting that there are so many different ways to accomplish something in Elements, and that applying the same effect two different ways can yield such different results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted March 5, 2013 #14 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Cindy Your online classes are really paying off. Great pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Posted March 5, 2013 #15 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Cindy Your online classes are really paying off. Great pictures. Thank you! I am really enjoying my learning!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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