how do i get a gradiated blur

[happy-snapper1970]

Hi there ,
iam new to this village today...hi:)
so please forgive me for any mistakes ..

i wish to learn how to produce a graidiated blur
iam familur with the tools in pse 4-5-6-
and know about the different types of blur options
but iam unsure how to obtain this easily.

the picture is of a street scean , with a hanging basket
hanging from a old wrought iron lampost and iam looking into the distance
the are 2 more about 20 feet away , before you look into the far distance .. its also look slightly downhill...
but i would like to make the blur gradual keep the
main subject of the hanging basket pretty much in focus
then the oer two a little less until the back is out of focus


hope i have explaine dmyself correctly ..

thanks and i look forward to your replies ..

Paul :eek:

[Byron Gale]

Paul,

Since you are familiar with the tools in the later versions, I will just give an outline of one way to do this without add-ins:

- Create a duplicate layer of the image to be faded.
- Apply a blur to the layer which is the greatest amount of blur you wish in the final result.
- Between the Background and the new layer, create an adjustment layer with no modifications - simply to use the layer mask.
- Group the blurred layer to the adjustment layer.
- Apply a black/white gradient to the layer mask of the adjustment layer.

The blurred upper layer is gradually revealed based on the gradient on the layer mask to which it is "clipped".

Once you have the technique, tinker with the placement of the gradient start/stop points as you apply it, and the gradient direction, until you get what you want.

Again, these are rough steps which presume familiarity with the program. If you need more detail, post back. Here's a sample:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1J9CfGfC6FWb73fHxWt7u9vjUL2po1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1J9CfGfC6FWb73fHxWt7u9vjUL2po1)

HTH,

Byron

[happy-snapper1970]

Hello there .
And thank you for your quick response .
however iam still having trouble ..:mad:

here is what i have done ..

1/ opened picture ( named background in layers tray )
2/ made duplicate of this this image ( called back-ground copy in layers tray)
3/ click on background , and added a gaussian blur
4/ went to layer , new adjustment layer, ladded a levels adjustemt with no adjustment. just clicked ok ..
5/ draged levels adjustemt layer down to inbetween background copy and background

the layers tray now has --- in this order .

background copy
levels adjustment
background -- with gaussian blur addec ..

all are visable


5/ clicked on levels adjust and background with gaussian blur on .
and linked these layers together .... ( link icons apear )

6/ clicked back on to levels adjust to select this only
7/ selected grad tool from tools box
8/ selected from the options a black/white option ( 3rd option in )
9/ moved mouse cursor onto picture and drew across picture
10 / the white box on the levels adjustment layer - went to a grad white to black ..

11/ but the picture didnt do anythink.... no blue

all layers have the eye ball on , and are visable ..


any further help would be most welcome ...
i must have missed something ....


thank you once again in anticaption .

Yours Paul

[mrod]

Hi Paul-

Try this:

Leave your gradient drawn. Unlink the two layers, and...


- click on your top layer and press ctrl/command-G (or go to Layer>Group with Previous. Or position your cursor on the line between the two layers in the layers palette, hold alt/option, and click. You should see the top layer indent a bit with a small arrow pointing to the layer below, as in Byron's screenshot.

What this does is create something called a clipping group. In essence, it clips your top photo to the gradient on the mask below, allowing only the parts that are white (full opacity) and gray (semi) to show. The parts that are covered in black by the mask will reveal the blurred layer underneath.

Give that a whirl and see if it does what you're looking for.

Mike

[Byron Gale]

Paul,

With one notable exception, your method is perfect.

In your Step 5, you should group Background Copy and Levels.

...of course, Mike has already told you how to adjust for that... :)

Byron

[happy-snapper1970]

Hi there Again
I would like to thank everyone who replied to my plea,
i have now sorted it with out with your help!
the effect looks great ....

i was forgetting to use the alt key ...

Again thanks again ....

De Paul :)