Alien Skin Bokeh

Soft ware Review

Glenn E. Mitchell II, Ph.D.The Light’s Right Studio

Copyright © 2009, All Rights Reserved, Th e Light’s Right

http://www.thelightsright.com

i

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introducti on

Chapter 1. User Interface.

Chapter 2. Bokeh.

Chapter 3. Vignett e.

Conclusions and Recommendati ons.

i

1

7

13

15

iii

Introduction

Introduction

Alien Skin® Bokeh® is an Adobe® Photoshop® plug-in for selectively adjusting the focus of digital photographs.

Control over depth-of-fi eld (DOF) is an important part of the composition process for photographers. It is common for photographers to bracket shots to ensure good exposure. Many photographers bracket their shots with diff erent apertures (f-stops) to leave options for diff erent DOF eff ects.

Many digital SLRs come with a DOF preview button. Th e view from the viewfi nder is with the aperture wide open (i.e., maximum aperture). Th is translates into minimum DOF. When the DOF preview button is depressed, the aperture is reduced to the current setting. Th e problem is this: the viewfi nder can become extremely dark for narrow apertures. Many macro lenses, for example, can tighten their aperture to f/32, which is a tiny pinhole. Except for the very brightest light, the viewfi nder becomes so dim at f/32 that it is hard to evaluate DOF.

With Alien Skin Bokeh, you can shoot at maximum DOF and then creatively reduce DOF is a way that appears natural. You do not need to bracket shots at something like f/16, f/11, f/8, and maybe f/4 or f/5.6 for creative options later.

Prefaceiv

Photoshop Plug-In

Alien Skin Bokeh is a Photoshop plug-in that’s compatible with Photoshop® CS3 and CS4. It is also compatible with Photoshop Elements (4.0.1 or later for the Mac version, 6.0 or later for the Windows version), Adobe® Fire-works® CS4, and Corel® Paint Shop® Pro X2.

Users who edit photographs with Adobe Photoshop CS3 or CS4, will appreciate the support for Smart Filters. Th is allows users to edit their Bokeh settings in a later editing session.

Limitations

I’m not going to give you a bunch of legal language. I’m not a lawyer. I’m just going to declare that this software review is self-published. Any typos, formatting glitches, or mistaken content are my responsibility.

Revisions and Future Editions

.PDF reviews have a big virtue. Th ey’re easy to update. Just produce a new .PDF fi le. Th at’s a big help when you self-publish because you don’t have a team of editors, typographers, and graphic artists to help catch mistakes.

Future updates to the software reviews on Th e Light’s Right is likely. If you feel something is missing from a review or unclear, please feel free to write. You’ll help others looking for tools to improve their digital photography.

vPreface

Chapter 1

2

User Interface

User Interface

Alien Skin Bokeh off ers a tabbed interface to the user. Th ere are three tabs:

Settings allows the user to select from factory presets designed to simulate the lens bokehs from a wide range of lenses. Optionally, the user can save and select theior own presets. To load settings, just click on them. To save a setting, fi rst make your adjustments on the Bokeh and Vignette tabs. Th en click the Save button and name your new setting.

Bokeh controls the blur that is applied to the photograph. Alien Skin Bokeh can work with an existing layer mask. If a mask is already active when Bokeh is invoked, the user interface will change slightly. Instead of off ering None, Radial, or Planar for the Focus Region options, the choices become Selection, Selection + Radial, and Selection + Planar. You will also have the option to Invert Selection. You can use a selection in this way only if Photoshop CS3/CS4 Smart Filter is not used for the layer.

Alien Skin Bokeh uses a tabbed interface. Th e screenshot above shows the user interface with the Settings tab selected.

Chapter 13

Vignette is used to darken the edges of a photograph. It can be used to simulate the vignette eff ect common for extreme wide angle lens or lenses with a long lens shade attached. It can also be used to add a more pronounced, creative vignette eff ect to a photograph.

Controlling the Bokeh Effect

Th e Bokeh tab provides considerable control over the bokeh eff ect. Th ere are Region and Blur controls on one panel, Aperture controls on another panel, and Highlight controls on a third panel.

Th e Region control aff ects where the photograph will be blurred and where it will be unaff ected by the bokeh eff ect.

When None is selected, the entire photograph is blurred.

Th e Radial option adds a radial “sweet spot” to the lens. Th e radial focus area can be stretched into an ellipse. Th e area within the radial focus ring will not be blurred. Th e area between the solid focus ring and the dashed focus ring will be progressively blurred. Any feature outside of the radial focus ring will get the total bokeh eff ect. Users can drag the dashed focus ring to wide or narrow the area that is progressively blurred

Planar adds a linear gradient. Th e Planar control has a circle with a cross at one end and a small square at the other. Th e circle end of the control is placed where the bokeh eff ect should begin and the small square indicates where the full bokeh eff ect should be achieved.

When a selection is added to the photograph before invoking Bokeh, the Region controls aff ect only the masked area(s).

Th e Blur control determines the overall intensity of the Bokeh eff ect. Th e control can be set between 0% and 100%.

Th e Aperture settings control the simulated eff ect of lens diaphragm characteristics, such as the number and shape

Some of the factory presets are designed to simulate the bokehs of well-known lenses.

4User Interface

Examples of the Bokeh Radial and Planar controls.

Chapter 15

of the blades. Th e settings control how natural the bokeh eff ect appears. Changes to these settings are most notice-able when photographs contain bright, specular highlights. When the illumination is even or diff use, changes to the Aperture settings will be less obvious.

Diaphragm Shape controls the shape of the bokeh. For a realistic lens bokeh that comes from a full open aperture, select Perfect Circle. Polygons and heart-shape can add sme interesting shapes to specular highlights.

Creamy renders the bokeh soft, so that the dia-phragm shape is not so obvious. Negative values can be used to add creative eff ects to specular high-lights, such as stars, hearts, or donuts (common with mirror lenses).

Rotation is useful with obvious specular high-lights. Th e points of stars, for example, can be ro-tated with this setting. When Perfect Circle is selected, this option is disabled.

Blade Curvature determines whether the poly-gon diaphragm shapes will have more of a round appearance or a star-like appearance. Positive val-ues result in round shapes. Negative values are used for star-like shapes.

Th e Highlights controls are used to boost brighter pixels, since bokeh eff ects are most pronounced for scenes with specular highlights.

Selection Threshold determines which pixels will be candidates to boost and make into specular highlights.

Boost Amount determines how much pixels are brightened to make them appear as specular high-lights.

Th e Settings tab provides considerable control over the appearance of the bokeh eff ect.

6User Interface

Controlling the Vignette Effect

Th e settings on the Vignette tab control darkening at the edge of a photograph. Photographers can choose a natural vignette that simulates the shaded eff ect of a lens vignette or they can opt for a more intense creative eff ect.

Vignette Shape off ers two choices. Focus Region uses the same control as the Bokeh tab Focus Region. Natural uses an oval shape centered in the middle of the lens.

If you want a vignette with a realistic appearance, select Black for the Vignette Color. Creative eff ects can select any color. Th ere is a Color Sampler for selecting a color form the photo-graph.

Intensity changes amount of the vignette eff ect. At 0%, there is no vignette eff ect. At 100%, some of the pixels will be converted completely to the vignette color.

Size is enabled only when Natural is selected for the Vignette Shape. It determines the size of the oval region used for the vignette eff ect.

Feather is used to provide a gradual transition between the vignette and the remainder of the photograph.

Th e Vignette tab allows the photographer to control the color and intensity of the vignette eff ect.

Chapter 2

8

Bokeh

Bokeh

Th e primary use of Alien Skin Bokeh is to reduce the DOF for a photograph, keeping some features in sharp focus and selectively blurring others. Digital photographers can creatively reduce DOF quickly and easily with Alien Skin Bokeh.

Th e sample photograph below is a composite. Th e DOF is impossible with just one photograph. Th e Photoshop CS4 Auto-Align Layers and Auto-Blend Layers commands were used to stack four photographs and blend the sharpest elements from each to give the appearance of greater photographic DOF. Th is photograph was used to test the bokeh settings of Alien Skin Bokeh.

If you intend to use a mask, you should create the mask before invoking Alien Skin Bokeh. With the photograph of the Atamasco Lily, I selected the fuzzy antlers, the pistil and its pollen grains, and part of the way down the green stamens with the Photoshop CS4 Quick Selection tool.

Th e sample photo is an Atamasco Lily. DOF was extended by stacking four photographs in Photoshop CS4. In this chapter, Bokeh will be used creatively to reduce the DOF.

Chapter 29

Explore your creative options. Here I considered a reduced DOF limited to the deeper throat of the Atamasco Lily.

If you use a selection with Alien Skin Bokeh, then Photoshop CS3/CS4 Smart Filters is no longer an option. I still recommend that you apply Alien Skin Bokeh to a layer. Being able to adjust the layer’s Opacity setting will give you more control over blending the reduced DOF. Th e Bokeh fi lter gives you the option of applying its eff ect to a layer.

Alien Skin Bokeh gives you a lot of creative control. You should indulge your creative instincts. Since Bokeh is a fi lter plug-in, you get immediate visual feedback. You have the option of a Split Preview with Bokeh, too. I considered using Selection + Radial for the Focus Region. I then expanded and contracted the “sweet spot,” rotated it, and maneuvered the focus rings. I decided to forego Selection + Radial and use just Selection on this photograph.

I was not looking for an intense blur. I wanted less blur than would occur with a single shot focused at the tip of the pistil and those tiny pollen grains. But a touch of blur down in the throat of the fl ower and along the sur-face of the petals might be preferrable to sharp focus for those photographic details. With Selection set for the Focus Region, the small Bokeh setting (5 in this case) would be applied to the petals and the deeper parts of the stamens).

Th e Radial and Planar controls can speed the selective application of blurs. Th e controls can be extended beyond the edges of the photograph for greater control of the eff ect. Th e example on page 11 shows how the Radial con-trol was extended to cover the apple crates and blur the tree at the back of the photograph.

10Bokeh

The example at the top includes the full effect of the Bokeh settings (100% Opacity). The example below set the layer Opacity to 35%.

Chapter 211

The selections with the Radial and Planar tools can be extended beyond the photograph for more control. Here, the Radial tool is used to quickly blur the crates back towards the tree and the background. The Planar tool acts like a linear gradient in Photoshop. You can easily select where the effect starts. In this case, towards the center of the stock photograph.

12Bokeh

Chapter 3

14

Vignette

Vignette

Adding a vignette eff ect is quick and easy with Alien Skin Bokeh.

Vignettes occur naturally, especially with extreme wide angle lenses. Th ey require special lens shades with scal-loped edges. A thick stack of fi lters can leave a visible vignette. Vignettes are also a creative option for bringing a viewer’s attention to the subject.

For the example below, I started with a stock photo. I wanted to reduce the visual impact of the building. so I started with a light application of the bokeh eff ect. Th en I turned to the vignette eff ect in Alien Skin Bokeh. I used the Color Sampler to select the deep blue color from the building. Using Black would be more natural. Th e blue color from the building would darken some of it’s features in a less obvious manner. Th e vignette eff ect used the same shape as the bokeh eff ect, a large ellipse covering most of the subject.

Chapter 4

16

Conclusions andRecommendations

Conclusions and Recommendations

Alien Skin Bokeh is a well-crafted plug-in for Photoshop CS3/CS4. It is also compatible with later versions of Photoshop Elements and Corel Paint Shop Pro X2. I found that the tool works just as advertised. So the question is “Recommended” or “Strongly Recommended” for my overall evaluation.

Installation

Alien Skin Bokeh requires activation after installation. Th e process is similar to the user experience with Adobe Photoshop and other Adobe tools. I found no problem with installation.

Documentation

Documentation was a bit disappointing. Th ere is a brief PDF user manual. It covers the basics in such a quick overview that I needed the video tutorials on the Alien Skin site to really appreciate how the Radial and Planar tools worked. Th e videos are also where you learn how to give a Lensbaby® or Lomo eff ect to your

Th e fi nal result, after shortening DOF slightly with Alien Skin Bokeh.

Chapter 417

photograph with Bokeh. Th e quality of the videos was OK. I had the impression that the video production was rushed. Th ere were small and unimportant mistakes in the presentation that are typically edited out of video tutorials. Given that Bokeh retails for just under $200 (US), I expected more in terms of documentation. For example, I was disappointed that none of the video tutorials was included on the shipped CD.

User Interface

Th e user interface for Bokeh is slick and professional. You can quickly reduce DOF selectively with Bokeh. Th e Radial and Planar tools can be used in place of Photoshop selections for many photographs. Th e tabbed UI gives the digital photographer considerable control over the bokeh and vignette eff ects.

Photoshop’s Lens Blur Filter

Here we come to the rub. How does Bokeh compare with Photoshop’s Lens Blur fi lter? Bokeh is a Photoshop plug-in fi lter compatible with both CS3 and CS4. Th e Lens Blur fi lter is available with both CS3 and CS4, too.

Th e examples on the next page are 100% zooms of the Atamasco Lily photograph. I made visually pleasing photographs with both fi lters, then compared the results. At 100% zoom, the photos are magnifi ed beyond print size. Th ere are subtle diff erences between the two photographs, but neither is vidually superior to the other. Send them at print resolution to a printer, shuffl e them face down, and then review the photographs. You would not be able to tell which was the result of Alien Skin Bokeh and which was run through the Photoshop Lens Blur fi lter. I used the same selection for both.

Th e Lens Blur fi lter is part of Photoshop CS3/CS4. Users of Photoshop Elements do not have the Lens Blur fi lter nor the sophisticated selection tools available in Photoshop. Alien Skin Bokeh can give them unprecedented control over selective blur eff ects and vignettes.

Photoshop CS3/CS4 have no automated tools for applying a vignette. Th e latest release of Adobe Camera Raw (ACR 5.2) does add a Post-Crop Vignette feature. Bokeh provides much greater creative control over vignettes compared with the Post-Crop Vignette feature in ACR.

Automation of vignettes raises an important issue. Creating a vignette is a relatively easy task for any user of Adobe Photoshop with a basic understanding on the Elliptical Marquee selection tool and the options on the Select menu. Th is is true also for Bokeh’s Radial and Planar tools. A little experience with the Gradient tool in Photoshop CS3/CS4 and you can obtain a similar eff ect. Th e Masks panel in Photoshop CS4 makes it even easier to work with masks and selections. Th e comparative advantage of Bokeh is ease and immediate visual feedback. You can quickly set the points where blur begins (and ends) and also easily control the transition from no blur eff ect to full blur eff ect. Th e same can be done with the Lens Blur fi lter through successive rounds of applying the fi lter, deleteing the eff ect, adjusting the mask, and trying again. Workfl ow is important. Many commercial fi lters, perhaps most, automate what can be accomplished with the right combination of technical experience, basic Photoshop commands, and bundled plug-in fi lters (like the Lens Blur fi lter). Each digital photographer will have to decide whether the speed and ease of an automated plug-in fi lter is worth its cost. Candidly, I would have a hard time justifying $200 for a plug-in fi lter just to add enhanced blur and vignette eff ects. It would be the most expensive single plug-in fi lter (by far) in my collection.

My personal observation is also shaped by a couple of features that are missing from Alien Skin Bokeh that are present in the Photoshop Lens Blur fi lter. Bokeh has nothing to compars with the Depth Map feature. Bokeh’s

18Conclusions and Recommendations

Th e example at the top is from the Photoshop Lens Blur fi lter. Th e example below it is from Alien Skin Bokeh.

Chapter 419

Radial and Planar tools cover many photographic situations, but Lens Blur‘s Depth Map feature provides tremendous fl exibility. Th e photo of the Roman woman on the next page is an example where a simple linear or radial gradient would not do as well as a Depth Map. By using the Photoshop Brush tool with black, white, and various shades of gray, the Lens Blur fi lter is guided where to apply its eff ect. As the example below demon-strates, great precision with the Photoshop Brush tool is not required.

Th e other feature of the Lens Blur fi lter that would benefi t users of Bokeh is the addition of noise. Any noise or fi lm grain will likely be obliterated by Bokeh. Th e noise settings for the Lens Blur fi lter are not among the most sophisticated tools for adding a fi lm grain eff ect, but they are better than no noise at all when aiming for a realistic eff ect with many photographs. Alien Skin incorporates realistic fi lm grain eff ects into Exposure 2. Some basic facility in Bokeh would be a welcome additiion.

Other Features

Th ere are presets to simulate lenses, but I found those to be more a marketing feature than anything practical. I was able to obtain visually pleasing results by adjusting the various settings. Photographer-to-photographer, I don’t care if the blur in one of my digital photographs mirrors a particular lens. What I care about the texture of the blur, how specular highlights are handled, etc.

Th e ability to add heart-shaped specular highlights was cute. Maybe a consideration for a wedding photographer.

Depth Map for the Roman woman.

20Conclusions and Recommendations

A Depth Map was used to add less blur to the gray monument and more to the background. A simple linear or radial selection, like those with the Radial or Planar tools in Bokeh, would be less eff ective.

Chapter 421

Recommendation

I struggled with my recommendation. Alien Skin Bokeh is pricey for a single Photoshop plug-in fi lter. I was im-pressed with the ease of use. Th e Radial and Planar Focus Region tools are very slick, especially the Radial tool.

If you are a busy professional photographer or you have a big budget for your projects, then the $200 price tag might not give you “sticker shock.” If you are an avid hobbyist, I would argue that spending $50 on a Photo-shop book or DVD and mastering the selection tools and masking techniques available in Photoshop will better reward you.

In the end, I asked myself if I would award Bokeh “Strongly Recommended” if it was more attractively priced. My answer was an immediate, “Yes.” Alien Skin works as advertised. It has a well-designed interface. It provides a very effi cient workfl ow for adding bokeh and vignette eff ects. Th e ability to easily take control over bokeh and even add lensbaby-like and Lomo-like eff ects to images, no doubt, will make it a popular tool among digital photographers.

Strongly Recommended

22Conclusions and Recommendations