I use a Sony Cybershot point and shoot. Consequently, many of my night shots come out blurry and out of focus. I just use Picnik to edit my shots.
Do you have any tips or strategies for getting the most out of your out of focus shots? Sometimes I don't mind if the photo has a bit of an out of focus flair... but is there a technique that helps to make the blur look intentional? Or editing that helps to reduce the blur or noise?
What do you do to make out of focus shots look cool?
tripod is the first thing. you can get fairly portable tripods that are fairly small and easy to carry about. the program picasa by google has a sharpen feature, but it depends on how blurry the image is. also might try image stabilization feature, i think most of the cybershots have that option.
@bungalow_bean my piece of advise, you have to get your photos right the instance you use your camera. I normally thrash all my blurred photos and get mad at myself as correcting blurred photos are nearly impossible using softwares. The technique to make blur with some parts sharp is using a low aperture i.e. F1.8 or F1.4, try using the "Portrait" preset in your camera, and place your subject with a long background, good luck.
Thanks for the replies! I really should consider a tripod...
Yes, the photo I have in mind (that sparked the inspiration for this post) is a portrait of a friend outside at night. It is out of focus, but I don't mind that so much, because this was the only shot that caught her laughing. I've accepted the blur for this particular photo, but I thought that there must be something cool you can do to an already blurry photo...other than leave it SOOC...
Is there a way I can post the photo in this thread if it's not in my 365 Album?
Hey Gina -- I've worked with a couple of low-light blurries...just played with them in lightroom with different presets and white/black levels until i came up with something I liked. As long as your goal is to enhance and not to remove the blur, you should be able to do something :)
Here's a couple in my project:
(this one looks like 3 pics put together, but it isn't...i did the lighting in lightroom with graduated filters)
@sdpace That first photo is just the kind of thing I was talking about Stacy! My photo is almost uniformly out of focus, in a similar way to yours. Do you remember what types of presets or effects you used there? I like that yours doesn't look dull, even though it's blurry.
@bungalow_bean I have switched computers recently, I will have to see if I can get to the edited version on the old computer....but looking at the raw file vs. what I posted, it looks like a purple/yellow split tone, added clarity, and upped the black clipping. It really isn't much difference. I tried to bring out the other lights in the photo without concentrating on the people too much.
@bungalow_bean are you using ISO settings for shooting at night? that will make it grainy but might make it focus better. Twilight setting on my Cybershot has to have a tripod or a fixed surface and I have to use the self-timer to get rid of that shake too, programmable in low light settings is blurry whatever I do because the camera tries to compensate.
@bungalow_bean Gina, the first pic posted by Stacy was taken with a DSLR, which usually gives a more beautiful/pleasant blur than a P&S, so I'm not sure you would get the same result even if you apply similar settings (though I don't know your camera). In addition to the tips mentioned above, one thing you could do to gain a higher shutter speed is to lower the IL if your camera allows it (for example -1 IL). If you use auto modes, the camera will take a picture that is much more exposed than the reality. By lowering the IL, you would get a darker pic but also closer to reality, and a shorter exposure time, hence less blur. It's difficult to explain because I haven't seen your pic and I don't know what settings you're using. Was it an option to use the flash for your night portrait?
Also when you edit, adding more contrast and saturation sometimes helps because the colours get stronger.
@bungalow_bean You can post a pic to a day in the past in your 365 album- like Dec 1 2010 or some day prior to your start and then you can post it here and maybe get more suggestions.
@shanne I have tried ISO settings that have worked well at concerts. I dislike that twilight setting...but I often forget it's the default in low-light!
Gina I love the fact that you have a point and shoot! I have the same problems, and I think my camera has the most powerful flash EVER! So I try to avoid using it.
I haven't really found a solution for blurring either, picknik has a really awesome sharpening and clarity feature which I found works much better than picasa's, but it does make the picture noisy.
I know this is an "after the fact" suggestion because you want to know how to deal with blur post picture taking, but I read somewhere that you are most still when exhaling and to exhale while pressing down on the shutter. I know that the picture above was probably spontaneous, but for future pictures you could always try that? I've found it sometimes really does make a difference. I also try to stabilize my elbows closer to my body.
Your friend looks very genuinely happy in that picture! You must have been having a good time.
@livin365 Yay point and shoots! Haha. I also avoid the flash in ...yes...in all circumstances. It creates ridiculous shadows. I should try the exhaling technique! Often, I find myself holding my breath during the snap.
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Yes, the photo I have in mind (that sparked the inspiration for this post) is a portrait of a friend outside at night. It is out of focus, but I don't mind that so much, because this was the only shot that caught her laughing. I've accepted the blur for this particular photo, but I thought that there must be something cool you can do to an already blurry photo...other than leave it SOOC...
Is there a way I can post the photo in this thread if it's not in my 365 Album?
Here's a couple in my project:
(this one looks like 3 pics put together, but it isn't...i did the lighting in lightroom with graduated filters)
Also when you edit, adding more contrast and saturation sometimes helps because the colours get stronger.
I haven't really found a solution for blurring either, picknik has a really awesome sharpening and clarity feature which I found works much better than picasa's, but it does make the picture noisy.
I know this is an "after the fact" suggestion because you want to know how to deal with blur post picture taking, but I read somewhere that you are most still when exhaling and to exhale while pressing down on the shutter. I know that the picture above was probably spontaneous, but for future pictures you could always try that? I've found it sometimes really does make a difference. I also try to stabilize my elbows closer to my body.
Your friend looks very genuinely happy in that picture! You must have been having a good time.