Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Focal Point is OneOne Software’s newest Photoshop plug-in that allows you to create images with selective focus and edge vignette effects. Using these techniques you can guide the viewer’s eye to the spot in the image that you want them to look at. Using an easy to use “focus bug” you can control the sweet spot, the amount and kind of blur. These types of effects have only been possible with expensive specialty lenses before. Does Focal Point deliver on the goods? We decided to try it out for ourselves and see what we thought about it.
What is selective Focus?
We have talked about selective focus here numerous times using depth of field (here) (here) (here) and lenses such as the Lensbaby 3G. Selective focus simply means that the main subject of the image is in sharp focus while the rest of the image is blurred out, this forces the viewer’s eye to the section of the image that we want them to be looking at. This can have a dramatic effect on the image and give it a much more dramatic feel. The problem with simply using aperture settings to control the selective focus is it doesn’t allow you to control the shape, direction, direction, or opacity of the blur effect. With a Lensbaby lens you have more control over the sweet spot of the focus area but you are limited to a round pattern and you don’t have some of the other controls either, and you can’t do a true tilt-shift effect with a Lensbaby lens. With a tilt-shift lens you have more control in the different directions but you still can’t control some of the effect, a tilt-shift lens will also set you back over $1,000. This is where Focal Point comes in. You can use your high quality auto-focus glass to take a great picture, and then add a variety of selective focus effects to the image in post production.
(...)
Read the original post at OnOne Software’s Focal Point (1,030 words)
© admin for Camera Dojo, 2008. |
Permalink |
2 comments |
Add to
del.icio.us
Post tags: Actions, Adjustments, Adobe, aperture, camera, Composer, flash, Focal Point, ing, lens, Lensbabies, light, lighting, new, OnOne Software, Photoshop, Pictures, Post, Presets, Review, shooting, technique, Video, viewer, Vignette, wedding, Weddings, windows
Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
