In a previous post, “Impressionist Photography”, I talked about a couple of camera techniques one can use to create photographs with an impressionist look. The effect is achieved at the moment of capture and I find it most fulfilling as a photographer when I can create the image in camera rather than later in Photoshop.
However, there are certain effects that are simply not achievable in camera and must be done on the computer. The two camera techniques I discussed in my previous post, multiple exposures and panning, create an impressionist look by eliminating the fine details in the image.
And once the details are gone, it is impossible to bring them back later on the computer. A creative technique I learned while taking an online Fine Art Nature Photography class with Kathleen Clemons consists in keeping the details in your subject but not elsewhere in the photograph by applying a Photoshop filter to simulate panning and create an impressionist background. The image looks very different than one with a sharp subject in front of an out of focus background, and definitely has a surreal feeling to it.
Share this content on
by 
