- Artistic Depth Field Tutorial

Open photoshop CS up and open our source image. Save the image by right clicking on it and saving to My Documents >> My Pictures. Now open it up by going to File >> Open and then locate it.

Unlock the layer by double clicking it and rename it to 'Artistic Depth Field'. Now duplicate the layer by either dragging the layer to the 'Create a new layer' button at the bottom of the layers tab or by pressing CTRL + J.

Now we are going to apply a gaussian blur to our newly created layer. Go to Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur and use a radius of 12 pixels to give it a strong blur. Click ok to apply.

Now add a layer mask to the layer. Go to Layer >> Add Layer Mask >> Reveal All. Unlink the mask by clicking once on the chain button to the left of the white layer mask.

Now grab our gradient tool (G). Use these following settings for our gradient.

Gradient: Black to White (left to right)
Gradient Type: Radial
Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Reverse: Unchecked
Dither: Checked
Transparency: Checked

Now we have our settings. On the layer mask. Drag your gradient from the top of the bell tower to the bottom of the piece. Drag from the point out of the dome at the top. Make sure the line is straight.

Now click the duplicated 'Artistic Depth Field' layer (the one with the layer mask on). Select the picture and not the layer mask. Now go to Filter >> Distort >> Glass and use these following settings:

Distortion: 5
Smoothness: 3
Texture: Frosted
Scaling: 100%
Invert: Unchecked

Now duplicate the original layer once more and bring it to the top of the other layers.

Now go to Filter >> Sketch >> Halftone Pattern and use these following settings:

Size: 1
Contrast: 5
Pattern Type: Dot

Click ok to apply the filter. Now change this layers blend mode to 'Overlay'. And there we are. We now have an artistic image painted on a canvas with the bell tower of the town (being more forward to us) having more detail. So this tutorial lets you bring out elements in a photo that stand out around the rest of the image. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial.

End Result

/Written by WoundedVeins
Submitted to Good-Tutorials.com