Sunday, June 9, 2013

Forced Depth of Field Technique on Photoshop

I found Photoshop's "forced depth of field" to be the most valuable technique for my images this past week. With the forced depth of field, I can add softness to the background of the image and bring more focus to the animal. According to this week's lecture, in order to acquire a forced depth of field, the image has to contain the usage of a filter and an adjustment layer. I used these tools to add a filter to my image, giving an appearance of a blurry background. Applying the forced depth of field to my images, I first had to select the animal, select the background, click on the adjustment layer, and add a gausian blur. The forced depth of field technique is a very valuable technique because it really allows the photographer/photo editor to minimize the distractions of the animal's environment, drawing the viewer's focus to the animal alone. The reason why I am taking photographs of the animals at the WCAS is to find these animals homes, not to emphasize the idea of them having to live in large kennels day in and day out. 

Chloe. #88989.
This image presents a nice example of the forced depth of field technique.  Before creating a blurry filter to the background, the bars of the kennel and the vertical lines of the ground made Chloe's environment seem cramped and distracted the viewer's eyes from her. I tried to crop to resolve this problem, but you can only do so much with just cropping. As you can see in this image, Chloe seems to stand out and is the emphasis of the photo because the background is subtly blurred.

Quick and important (and related) fact: According to Janet Scarlett's article that discusses reducing the relinquishments and euthanasias for dogs and cats, Scarlett writes about the true, sad story for mutts: "...mixed-breed dogs and cats and those acquired at no or low cost are at higher risk of relinquishment" (309). I was reminded of this sad, but true fact when looking at Chloe's picture. It is very apparent that she is a beagle mix, but she is not a pure-bred beagle. It's not just Chloe. Most of the animals that I encounter at the animal shelter are mixed-breed dogs and cats. That is why these mixed-breed animals are at a higher risk of relinquishment, because they are the ones who are in shelters. Please don't let this hybrid trait prevent you from adopting or encourage you to surrender your animals. They need to be loved as well!



2 comments:

  1. Beautiful way to weave together the articles and lectures! Well done, and thanks for advocating for the mixed breeds!

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  2. I was worried the incorporation of the reading was to abrupt, but I'm glad it really advocated the mixed breeds. Thanks!

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