How to Create Depth of Field in Photoshop

In this video tutorial, watch as I show you how to create depth in your photo manipulations in Photoshop. I see lots of composites and photo manipulations that fail at creating depth, so I hope this helps.

In the video, I will show you how to create depth when you are editing. But before I do that, I quickly go over a few older images and show you where and why I used this trick. When we create composite images, we want it to be immersive for the viewer. A way of creating this feeling is by faking depth of field. Now, this is not a hard process; it is actually fairly simple.

The easiest way to create depth is by blurring the background and the foreground. The thing is, you need something in the foreground to blur, and that is where people go wrong. They forget about adding a foreground element. So, what kind of element do you add? Well, what is the story of your image? If you know the story, adding an element should be pretty straightforward. If the concept is a jungle, add some leaves; if it is out to sea, then add some splashes. It does not have to be complicated. Trust me, if you can start creating depth, your photo manipulations will be all the better for it.

This tutorial is great for beginners and even intermediate Photoshop artists who want to start to think more about the theory of what they are creating. Make sure you plan your image before you shoot or edit, then you will have plenty of time to think about foreground elements.

Clinton Lofthouse's picture

Clinton Lofthouse is an Advertising/Entertainment photographer, creative artworker and Photoshop expert from the U.K. Specializing in composite and photomanipulation imagery.
When he is not chained to his desktop PC editing, Clinton likes to put on Synthwave music, wear Aviator sunglasses and pretend to be in an 80s movie.

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