Focus on subject for DoF photography?

[ILUMINATIUNDEAD]

So I watched and read tutorials how to do photography, including DOF. I don't know how to make it focus on just one subject and make everything else blurry. Because either DOF works and everything gets blurry or nothing blurs at all! I heard I have to do a camera lock or something.? Can someone please help me ... thanks https://gyazo.com/b431d07f175040521718b9396e1b7a0a

[Chic Aeon]

I do what Whirly says and then adjust the DOF settings (Firestorm Phototools).  It is important to note that if you are shooting high rez photos (mine ae 6000 before resizing) you  need to make your photo BLURRIER than you want your finished work to be as resizing will give you less pixels and "sharpens" even if you don't use that ability in your graphics program.  

While the slider positions change depending on what I am doing, this is a shot of the last setting I used.

[Lindal Kidd]

There has to be some distance between your subject and the background.

[ILUMINATIUNDEAD]

On 12/28/2017 at 7:56 AM, Lindal Kidd said:

There has to be some distance between your subject and the background.

 

Even then can you still help me solve the problem?

[Whirly Fizzle]

Alt+left click on the object you want to be in focus.
If you happen to have a space navigator mouse, the focus will always be under the mouse cursor.

[Madelaine McMasters]

Depth of Field is a function of subject-lens distance, the greater the distance , the greater the depth of field. So don't set your camera 10 meters in front of the subject and expect to blur out a background that's 1m behind the subject. Set your camera about as close to the subject as the subject is from the background and then noodle with camera controls to get the look you wish.

[BillyFlynn]

Very u

On 12/30/2017 at 5:19 AM, Chic Aeon said:

I do what Whirly says and then adjust the DOF settings (Firestorm Phototools).  It is important to note that if you are shooting high rez photos (mine ae 6000 before resizing) you  need to make your photo BLURRIER than you want your finished work to be as resizing will give you less pixels and "sharpens" even if you don't use that ability in your graphics program.  

While the slider positions change depending on what I am doing, this is a shot of the last setting I used.

 

Very useful post.  And it took me AGES to work out that the Depth of field BLUR of the Background/Foreground will only be visible in the output when you lay it out at an appropriate resolution.  Like you say  - if you have your IN WORLD settings at 6000.  Then you need to ramp up that blurriness, for it to look right in the actually output.

So play around with this, and find a sweet spot, depending on the usual size you will be creating your final edits of your photo.  (So for me I tend to take shots at 6000, but the image I create in Photoshop is set at 4000

This gives me some wiggle room to position the image, or crop it and reduce it within my final image, without affecting the quality of the shot. 

And to get the depth of field to look right in this kind of final scale down (i.e. using a 6000px image in a 4000px final image frame) I found that if I ramp up the focal length to somewhere between 100 and 150, this works just right, and makes the Depth of Field effect look just right.

I have no idea what affect the other sliders have.  But the foc length one seems to be the one I have to ramp up in world, to get the depth of field to be visible in my final edits.

[Chic Aeon]

2 hours ago, BillyFlynn said:

the image I create in Photoshop is set at 4000

Mine are all 1999 which is the border where Blogger counts pictures against your allotment. Anything under that doesn't count. That may have changed lately but since that would fill the screen of most of the computer users out there, that was my choice.     Of course you have to have a fairly hefty computer to use DOF and all the sliders and then the lighting sliders etc etc  :D.   So not too many folks are playing in that pond.   

[JordonBanks]

On 12/30/2017 at 1:05 AM, Whirly Fizzle said:

Alt+left click on the object you want to be in focus.
If you happen to have a space navigator mouse, the focus will always be under the mouse cursor.

LIFE SAVER.  Just could not work out how to focus on my face once I had set my depth of field how I wanted it.  THIS SOLVED MY ISSUE.  PERFECTLY!!!   (and also I'd like to take this opportunity to also prove my point to some of the moderators of this forum that the OLD POSTS ARE STILL VALUABLE.  As prevoulsy they have kind of suggested to me I shouldn't really be adding stuff to older posts as they may be out of date or no longer accurate.  I get that.  But this proves how older posts can equally be invaluable.  Thank you Whirly Fizzle for this - albeit it from 5 years ago!!).

Edited January 29, 2022 by JordonBanks
typo

[Whirly Fizzle]

11 hours ago, JordonBanks said:

LIFE SAVER.  Just could not work out how to focus on my face once I had set my depth of field how I wanted it.  THIS SOLVED MY ISSUE.  PERFECTLY!!!   (and also I'd like to take this opportunity to also prove my point to some of the moderators of this forum that the OLD POSTS ARE STILL VALUABLE.  As prevoulsy they have kind of suggested to me I shouldn't really be adding stuff to older posts as they may be out of date or no longer accurate.  I get that.  But this proves how older posts can equally be invaluable.  Thank you Whirly Fizzle for this - albeit it from 5 years ago!!).

You don't say which viewer you are using but if you happen to be using Firestorm, we have better DoF support since my old post 

In Firestorm 6.4.13.63251 & later...

• Added free-aim mouse and focus lock in Depth Of Field
  This feature makes setting focus point for Depth of Field (DoF) snapshots so much easier if you do not have a Spacenavigator mouse
  Preferences → Graphics → Depth of Field → Depth of Field focus follows pointer
  Phototools → DoF/Glow → Depth of Field focus follows pointer
  When this setting is enabled, Depth of Field (DoF) focus will follow your mouse pointer.
  This behaviour matches that seen when using flycam with a Spacenavigator mouse or similar.
  Use this option in conjunction with DoF focus lock: World → Photo and Video → Depth of Field focus lock ( Shortcut ALT+SHIFT+X )
  See this feature in action HERE

[JordonBanks]

On 1/30/2022 at 12:21 AM, Whirly Fizzle said:

You don't say which viewer you are using but if you happen to be using Firestorm, we have better DoF support since my old post 

In Firestorm 6.4.13.63251 & later...

• Added free-aim mouse and focus lock in Depth Of Field
  This feature makes setting focus point for Depth of Field (DoF) snapshots so much easier if you do not have a Spacenavigator mouse
  Preferences → Graphics → Depth of Field → Depth of Field focus follows pointer
  Phototools → DoF/Glow → Depth of Field focus follows pointer
  When this setting is enabled, Depth of Field (DoF) focus will follow your mouse pointer.
  This behaviour matches that seen when using flycam with a Spacenavigator mouse or similar.
  Use this option in conjunction with DoF focus lock: World → Photo and Video → Depth of Field focus lock ( Shortcut ALT+SHIFT+X )
  See this feature in action HERE

Thank you - yes Firestorm - but on a Mac.  I find to get depth of field to be visible in my shots outside of SL, I have to really ramp up the DOF in SL - to the point it looks super blurry in SL, but is fine when I then open the shot in Photoshop.  Not sure if this is normal behaviour, or specific to my Mac version of Firestorm.

Edited February 16, 2022 by JordonBanks

[Whirly Fizzle]

38 minutes ago, JordonBanks said:

I find to get depth of field to be visible in my shots outside of SL, I have to really ramp up the DOF in SL - to the point it looks super blurry in SL, but is fine when I then open the shot in Photoshop.  Not sure if this is normal behaviour, or specific to my Mac version of Firestorm.

Nah that's a "bug". 
BUG-216400 - DOF settings ignored on hi-rez snapshots