Creating Artificial Bokeh -Photoshop

During looking on the internet for tutorials to create Bokeh on a DSLR camera I had come across how to create this effect in Photoshop. This seems the easier way as I could take a normal picture without lights and then add them in the editting stage as I could choose the positioning of them and how blurred/glowing I would like them to be.

Tutorial:


Using Brushes
http://webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/chroma-wallpapers

Using Foreground and Background Tools
http://www.graphix1.co.uk/2010/08/17/bokeh-background-effect-photoshop-tutorial/

Merging Two Images Together Seamlessly In Photoshop

So now i have found out how to create my main image on a DSLR but i know that i need to take two images and merge them together as otherwise i would have to get the person that i am focussing on in the main image to stand very still because the shutter speed will be 1 second for example

Tutorials:

http://www.photoshop911.com/masking_channels/layer_masking.html


I then found something called Vector Masking by this tutorial and if i take two images one with the shutter speed open so i get the car lights blurred across the background and then another image with my model in the same background, but with the shutter speed lowered to get a clear picture and then with this tool i should be able to either use the Magic Wand tool to remove the background completly or use Vector Masking to fade the two images together


http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/vector-masks-photoshop/

Researching Into How I Can Create My Main Image- Tutorials

During some research i have found some tutorials since my last post that i can use to create my main image these show me how to get the Bokeh effect and how to set the camera in order to do this.

The first is a simple 5 step tuturial, explaining how to use the apperture and the depth of field in simple terms however this only gave me a basic idea of what i had to do:

http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/quick-tip-5-tips-for-getting-great-bokeh-shots--photo-8557

This tutorial therefore applied the terms to a Nikon DSLR camera with a similar design to mine and told me what to do specifically step by step however i am not sure whether this will cause the lights to blur in the background or whether i will just get a blurred background in general:

http://photographylife.com/how-to-obtain-maximum-bokeh

What do i do with the shutter speed or is it all about the Aperture and the Zoom ?

Youtube Tutorial on a similar camera in the Nikon range that i will be using with a 18-55mm lense standard to Nikon :

Researching Into How I Can Create My Main Image

I know that i would like to for my main image to focus on the model but also to have car lights moving behind the person however i am not sure how to carry this out or what settings i will need on a DSLR, instead of guessing i have decided to look into it and i looked over this theme of photography called Bokeh and is defined on Wiki as

'In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image. Bokeh has been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light".^'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

Into the future i will also look into tutorials on youtube other such places so i can know how to carry out this effect so this will be a ongoing thing running up to my photoshoot

Planning the setting & Equipment that i will need for my photoshoots

For my front cover i have decided to use a night time scene for my main image on my front cover, this will be taken on Canterbury Road, Westgate as it is rather busy and will create the effect that i would like which is blurred lights in the background of the shot like the Complex front cover that i used in my research for codes and conventions. For this i will need a LED lighting rig consisting of one light that i could shine the light on the model i will be using from just one angle. On the front cover there will be no other images like in my mock up, and there will be minimal amounts of texts and because of my mock ups i will not have to change the layout or features such as text because it is already in place. The Main image will be taken at roughly 6 o clock on a night in the next two weeks whenever the person i am using for a model is free and when it will be in suitable whether conditions. On the contents page i will need 2 images, the bigger image yet again being of the same person as the main image on the front cover but the other one being in a studio setting with my other model. The camera that i will be using is my own (Nikon DSLR) as i am used to adjusting the shutter speed, aperture and many other settings that will be vital for capturing the best pictures i can , and finally for the double page spread i will need several images that would be focussed on the main article of the magazine, these will also be in a studio setting so therefore i may need one or two photoshoots in the studio, however my other images will be taken at the night setting as for costumes i will stick with the Classic indie of tight jeans and checkered short sleeve or long sleeve shirt, for one of the photos on the double page spread i will set my camera into a greyscale mode as when researching around the indie magazine area i had found that these images were popular with the likes of 'Artic Monkeys, Oasis' and other such artists.

Tuesday 4th Febuary - Main Image Shoot (Roughly 6pm) Canterbury Road
Costume - Skinny Jeans, Checkered Shirt
Equipment Needed- Nikon DSLR (Owned) & LED Lighting

Thursday 6th Febuary- Other Images in Studio setting, images taken will be those for double page spread and full body shot for contents page. If i cannot take all the images needed on this day i will hold a second photoshoot again the following Tuesday if studio is free.

Costumes- Model will be wearing chinos and a checkered shirt along with smart shoes (Not that they will be in any of the images used but they will in original images before editing)


Equipment Needed- Standard Studio Lighting, Nikon DSLR

Props- Microphone and DMX Lead if can get hold of, any images taken with microphone will be used as a backup incase the other images planned eg the medium close up does not fit well onto the planned contents page which i have made as a mock up

Mock Up -Double Page Spread

Personally I found this the hardest document to crate a mock up for because there was so many existing designs and ways you could lay a double page spread out that i was simply undecided. So i decided to go down the route of simply but effective, a double page spread with just one or two images,and small amounts of text but telling the reader what they want to know. Below is my mock up for The Strokes, of course my final double page spread will contain my image/ images and will also have a different context but the text is interchangeable.

Mock Up- Contents Page

When i was researching into Contents pages i Particularly liked Billboards contents page with their blue lines separating parts of the page. I had then decided to use this in my mock up, and the final mock up is shown below. I have used found images from the internet and will be asking for feedback from my focus group just like the front cover for any other improvements i can make in the layout or the design of the Contents page.Also as this is only a mock up i have adapted the content of the magazine to suit the images that i have used however for my real magazine i will yet again adapt the contents so that it matches up with the images i will have taken.

Edited- After looking back on this mock up and after creating my double page spread i have decided that it does infact make the magazine look more 'Amateur' than professional print and therefore in my main task i will use more image manipulation, still using the lines to seperate certain parts of the page but i will use overlapping circles which will also tie into my double page spread showing that i have a consistent house style