Portrait Enhancement Video

Strategic blur can do remarkable things for a photo. It can either imply a sense of movement and action, or it can evoke stillness, peace, and focus.

I used blur to my advantage in a recent tutorial video. I combined a blur effect from Bokeh with a simulated film effect from Exposure to change a photo’s mood. Although the effects are subtle, the results are significant.

Robert Hamilton let us use his photo of Jillian Rabe for the video. Thanks Robert and Jillian!

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By Jimmy Beech|Apr 9, 2013|Categories: Exposure, Tutorials|

About the Author: Jimmy Beech

Jimmy handles marketing for Exposure Software. He makes videos, authors the blog, governs social channels, and he makes a mean cup of coffee. He's also a photographer and a complete fitness nut.

4 Comments

Mary Joan June 29, 2013 at 2:03 pm

Dear Jimmy,

I have Exposure 4 and trying to find out how you get that High key 40′s or 50′s look. I have tried to archive this effect and can not find it. Can you email me the steps to get this effect. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

Mary Joan Wright
- Jimmy July 4, 2013 at 9:24 am
  
  Hi Mary,
  
  No problem. We have a video that demonstrates how to make a high-key glamour look in Exposure 4, the Glamour video. Here’s a link to the playlist for Exposure 4 videos, Glamour is toward the bottom of the list. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp6FNQOVwOM&list=PLMdft2DwTmba-Hoje1MxIsYiRWwXPQ9Rw
  
  Thanks!
  -jimmy
Karen Egan July 28, 2013 at 9:27 am

Hi, I am trial-ing Exposure 5 and Bokeh at the moment. Can you apply effects to just a portion of the image? I love what it can do and all your products. Keep it up!

Regards, Karen
- Jimmy July 29, 2013 at 2:21 pm
  
  Hi Karen,
  
  The effects from Exposure and Bokeh are applied to the whole image. Once applied, they can be masked off, or hidden in selected areas, using Photoshop. Here is a link to a video tutorial that demonstrates the process of masking out a portion of an Exposure effect in Photoshop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFIw1XetHvs
  
  Bokeh works a little differently than Exposure, but we have helpful videos for it too. Here’s a link to the tutorials page for Bokeh: http://www.alienskin.com/bokeh/Bokeh-tutorials.aspx

Comments are closed.