Creating distance blur

What I want to do with an existing picture is the following: I want to isolete an object from a picture (let’s say the subject). I want to keep this sharp. I want the background to get blurred, sharp on the foreground and the more in a distance, the more it should get blurred. Just like when you play with field depth with a camera.
I know it can be done because I have read about this (and done this). Unfortunately I lost the article in which it was explained and I forgot how it was done. Can anybody help me out how this is done?

Photoshop CS2.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Fokke Nauta wrote:

What I want to do with an existing picture is the following: I want to isolete an object from a picture (let’s say the subject). I want
to keep this sharp. I want the background to get blurred, sharp on the foreground and the more in a distance, the more it should get blurred. Just
like when you play with field depth with a camera.
I know it can be done because I have read about this (and done this). Unfortunately I lost the article in which it was explained and I forgot how
it was done. Can anybody help me out how this is done?

Photoshop CS2.

Thanks in advance for your help.

There are several ways, also depending on the photo. You can use the ‘Lens Blur’ filter. First make a gradient in an alpha channel, then you can use that gradient to set the focus point in Lens Blur.

—
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl

X-post, follow-up to adobe.photoshop.windows

What I want to do with an existing picture is the following: I want to isolete an object from a picture (let’s say the subject). I want to keep this sharp. I want the background to get blurred, sharp on the foreground and the more in a distance, the more it should get blurred. Just like when you play with field depth with a camera.
I know it can be done because I have read about this (and done this). Unfortunately I lost the article in which it was explained and I forgot how it was done. Can anybody help me out how this is done?

Photoshop CS2.

Fokke Nauta wrote:

X-post, follow-up to adobe.photoshop.windows

You have some responses back in alt.graphics.photoshop. I don’t visit the other group so I cross-posted this to both.

What I want to do with an existing picture is the following: I want to isolete an object from a picture (let’s say the subject). I want
to keep this sharp. I want the background to get blurred, sharp on the foreground and the more in a distance, the more it should get blurred. Just
like when you play with field depth with a camera.
I know it can be done because I have read about this (and done this). Unfortunately I lost the article in which it was explained and I forgot how
it was done. Can anybody help me out how this is done?

Photoshop CS2.

Be careful at the edge of the foreground object. Sometimes you need to clone in more background behind the subject or you see a blurry halo if it’s a large blur radius.