depth of field trick

[Shinnen]

I read an article saying that, if my camera does not have the DOF range that I want, I can take a series of pictures, that individually have various parts of the picture in focus, then somehow assemble them and come up with a picture that will have all the areas I want in focus, i.e. making the picture appear as if it had been taken with a camera having a large DOF range. Can such a series of pictures, having different areas in focus, be assembled using Photofiltre?
Thanks,
..... john

[Tom]

Yes indeed, manualy you can since a long time.

• Open the picture with the correct DOF area to copy
• menu Edit / Define Pattern
• open the target image
• paint on the wrong DOF area with the clone stamp tool in pattern mode and full opacity

For your information, the algorithm of the automatic function you talk about was enhanced by an armada of ingeneers
for a professionnal soft which cost an arm and i don't think it will soon fall in public domain to be freely reproduced.
PhotoFiltre is free and managed by a single man, but what a man !!! The proof : it allows you to do since 2001 that you never have dreamed.

[Shinnen]

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the help. It'll be a while before I try this, but it will come in handy.
It occurs to me that this technique would serve me well, with a previous request I had,
wrt to cutting and pasting a section from one picture into another. Initial tests indicate
that it will work quite well, provided that one makes transparent the area of the original that one does not want transferred, and that the section to be 'pasted' (or really painted) into the the target are the exact size, proportion, and location in both pictures.
What do you think?
..... john

[Tom]

.../... wrt to cutting and pasting a section from one picture into another.
Initial tests indicate that it will works quite well, provided that one makes transparent, the area of the original that one does not want transfered,
and that the section to be 'pasted' (or really painted) into the the target are the exact size, proportion, and location in both pictures.
What do you think?
..... john

I'm really sorry but i don't understand what is the problem.
If the problem is the transparency, i have already answer. Otherwise let me see an example, i'm in the deep fog.

[Shinnen]

Hi Tom,
Sorry..... for the confusion. There is no problem, your suggestion is exactly what I wanted. I was just thinking that your method (above) for increasing the DOF could also be used to replace a part of one picture, with part of another, instead of doing a 'cut and paste'.
...... john

[Tom]

oh yes indeed, but you have to select an area on the target image if you want draw without overflow, for a precise work,
and both images must have same size and same positions of contents.
Otherwise, this method is very convenient to paste with very smoothed edges.

To cover a part of image by an other from a different position and/or background, the classic method is more suitable :
a tutorial i'm regularly using for family events : http://jptom.free.fr/Tuto_En.html#YeuxMiClos
For the 11°point, "Border effect" can be replaced for PF7 by an editing of the Alpha channel to blur the edges.

[Shinnen]

Yes...... well in my post 'cut and paste' June 25th, I was talking about replacing a statue in a picture with an identical (clearer) one from another picture...... in which the position and size were exactly the same in both. So...... my thought was to make everything transparent in the 'good' picture, except the statue; then use your Clone Stamp trick to 'paint' the good statue over top of the poor one. If everything except the statue is transparent one couldn't go wrong.
.... john

[Tom]

Ok, try it and you will understand which is the easier way to proceed, depending of the size and position of the both statues.
The only religion in this matter is to find an user friendly process and keep a good level of quality on the edges of the pasted parts.

[Shinnen]

Yes..... OK. Thanks for your help.
..... john