Playing with blur

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Photography is a wonderful and versatile 'hobby' that you hopefully never tire of. By forcing yourself to try something new from time to time and to think and photograph outside the box, you also make sure you never stop learning. Photography lets you grow old while staying young.

As well as trying to keep up with all kinds of technical developments, there are of course various creative possibilities that can challenge you.

One that really appeals to me is creating blurred images, for example.

Now I can already hear you thinking: that's the easiest thing there is! But it is not that simple. The degree of blur has to be just right, strangely enough.

When we look at an image, our eyes automatically search for recognisable, clear shapes. When only a fraction is sharp, the eye is immediately drawn to it. As a photographer, you can use this to guide the viewer.

When you let go of this completely and deliberately photograph everything out of focus, you move towards the painterly, as if you are holding a paintbrush instead of a camera.

You start playing with shapes, colours and light. The aim is then to have nothing recognisable left in the image. You leave reality behind and focus entirely on your feelings, experience and imagination.

When taking the photo, I make sure my exposure is as light as possible to create a watercolour-like style.

Just as a painting is built up from several layers, you can also give a blurred photo several layers in post-processing, making it even more painterly.

In Lightroom, I add extra texture by moving the slider all the way to the right. This accentuates details such as lines and shapes.

I do the same with clarity, which adds depth to the photo. You increase the contrast between different colours.

You can also use the brush to edit parts of the photo locally to suit your taste.

If you really want to let yourself go, you can add extra texture and layers in Photoshop to make the whole thing even more painterly. As if your photo were printed on linen. This is great fun to experiment with!

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