The basics

156 ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 5.0 FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS
DARKROOM TECHNIQUES ON
THE DESKTOP
Once you have mastered the basic editing and enhancement skills and techniques in
Elements you will no doubt want to move on to some more challenging tasks that will
extend and build upon what you already know. The group of techniques collected
together here is loosely based on traditional photographic ‘know how’ that I have reworked in a
digital fashion.
7.01 Diffusion printing
Suitable for Elements – 5.0, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0 | Diffi culty level – Intermediate | Resources – Web image 701
Tools used – Eraser | Menus used – Filter, Layer
Even though as image-makers we spend thousands of
dollars on equipment that ensures that we make sharp
photographs, there is something enticing about a
delicately softened picture. Especially when this lack of
sharpness is contrasted against a well-focused section
of the picture. Diffusion printing is one traditional
printing technique that played with this idea. Parts of
the image were purposely blurred whilst other areas
remained sharp.
With non-digital photography adding such an effect
meant placing a 'mist' or 'fog' fi lter in front of the
camera lens at the time of shooting. More recently,
in an attempt to gain a little more control over the
process, photographers have been placing diffusion
fi lters below their enlarging lenses for part of the print's
exposure time. This process gave a combination effect
where sharpness and controlled blur happily coexisted
in the fi nal print.
Step 1 >> Duplicate the original
picture by dragging it to the New
Layer button or choosing the
Layer>Duplicate Layer option.
Book resources at: www.adv-elements.com
Step 2 >> Apply the Gaussian Blur
fi lter (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) to
the upper, duplicated, layer.
Gaussian Blur fi lter >> The diffusion printing
technique is based around the careful
application of the Gaussian Blur fi lter.
Step 3 >> Control the way that the
blurred layer interacts with the one
beneath by adjusting the blending
mode and/or using the eraser to
remove unwanted blurred areas.