SELECTIVE DOF — SINGLE CAPTURE © Craig Blacklock

The Purpose: To get subject sharp and background blurred with only one capture.

When it can be used: •When subject is well separated from background.

• When the subject plane is parallel to sensor plane.

Camera settings:
RAW
Aperture Priority (best) or manual
Mirror locked up
Self timer set to 2 seconds or remote shutter release.
Aperture that gives desired DOF

Limiting factor:

It is often hard to get enough DOF so the subject is sharp, while keeping the background sufficiently soft unless there is a large distance between them. If you find you can’t find an f-stop that works, you may wish to use the Selective DOF multiple –capture technique. Another reason you may wish to do this is, even the area on the subject plane will be less sharp at wider open apertures. Closing down the aperture at least to f/8 will overcome aberrations that would otherwise degrade the whole image.

Capture process:
Use on subjects that are quite a distance from the background, such as tall flower stalks. Even though the background will be soft, it is important to get an angle so that what is behind the subject does not compete with it.Use Diffusion Tent to block any wind that may move subject during the exposure.

Line up the camera angle so the sensor is parallel to the parts of the subject you want in focus. Hold in the DOF preview button and scroll through apertures, watching the change in DOF. You want enough DOF to keep subject sharp, but not so much the background becomes too sharp and busy. Do a test shot and examine on the LCD screen. You may wish to bracket the DOF by making captures at different
f-stops (if you are in the aperture priority mode the camera will automatically change the shutter speed. If you are in manual, remember to do this yourself as you change apertures!).

Computer processing:
Process normally in ACR, with the exception that you may wish to apply selective sharpening, so the blurred background is not sharpened at all. You can do this with Process normally in ACR, with the exception that you may wish to apply selective sharpening, so the blurred background is not sharpened at all. You can do this with hen layer them in Photoshop and mask off to reveal the sharp foreground and soft background. This is a great technique. Once layered, you can further soften the background using FILTER>BLUR>LENS BLUR. If softened edges of the subject start to show, haloing the sharp subject, just clone them out on the background layer.

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