Foreground Blur Tutorial: The Easiest DOF Effect | Take & Make Great Photography with Gavin Hoey

When you think about depth of field, it’s usually connected with background blur and that makes a lot of sense. In photography, we use background blur to make our subjects stand out from their backgrounds and give a sense of depth to images. But if your goal is just to create depth in your images, there is an alternative to background blur: foreground blur.

Foreground blur is always an option even when background blur is not. For example, when your subject is standing against a wall. As photographer Gavin Hoey shows in this video, understanding the basic photography principles behind foreground blur make the opportunities to use it pop up more often.

Gavin sets up three different studio portrait ideas, each creating foreground blur in a different way. First, Gavin shows how any wall can be used to create a depth of field effect simply by framing it into the foreground of your photos. Next, Gavin uses fabric in his foreground and finally, it’s a quick trip into the garden to fetch some twigs and branches. With a little bit of careful studio lighting with flash, Gavin turns some twigs into a stunning fine art foreground blur image.

Gavin Hoey is a freelance photographer, writer, and trainer of all things photographic. Gavin has a real passion for sharing his photography and Photoshop knowledge. In 2008, he started recording and uploading video tutorials to YouTube. His work is regularly featured in photography magazines, websites, and videos.

Timestamps and Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:53 Camera and flash settings for the session
1:36 How to find foreground blur against a wall
2:54 Photo session using a wall as the foreground
4:21 Using fabric in front of the lens technique
5:30 Photo session with different fabric in the foreground
6:34 Using solid objects for your foreground blur
7:23 Adding a 2nd flash to light the foreground
7:54 Photo session using twigs as foreground blur
8:54 Conclusions
9:09 Outro

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