Help! Why isn't Photoshop Capable of Doing This? [pic]

[milbournosphere]

is this the only way ? going out myself and shooting bokeh templates?
there arent any filters or brushes that would easily produce this effect?

Any camera that allows you to specify an aperture should allow you to accomplish a similar effect. You don't necessarily need a digital option, just a manual-ish lens and some christmas lights would get you started:

http://dptnt.com/2008/12/christmas-lights-bokeh/

From there all you need to do is work on your skills with masking and layering. Photoshop is a more complicated tool, it's going to take more steps than hipstagram ever would. That said, it's a far more powerful tool, one you'll probably learn to love.

 

[snberk103]

....

but what i don't get is why if you try to replicate something that is easily done on an iphone app on photoshop that it takes a much longer time with much more considerable effort and in my case a less desirable result!

on iphone i click one thing and it adds the bokeh lights. on photoshop i would have to use gradients,brushes, blend modes, filters and heck even take my own bokeh light pics for a very similar effect.
...

It's because they are for two different intended users. With iPhone apps, the users are passing around personal images - shot at low resolution - to amuse each other (for the most part). No one really cares (or notices) if the filter effects are similar across numerous images.

Photoshop is intended (if not always used by) professional who want their images to look different - very different from each other. And whose images could very well be scrutinized by other professionals who job it is to look for that "different" look.

Depending on your point of view, Photoshop either 'allows' you to create your own filters, or it 'demands' you to create your images.

If you want quick and easy, Photoshop is not the best tool. If you want distinct and customized then the iPhone app is your best tool. It really depends on what you want to determine the best tool for a job.

I have a collection of small little Mac apps for image editing. Sometimes - it is just easier to drop an image into one of these apps than to build something in Photoshop. Doesn't make the effect "better"... it's just easier.

Search the Mac App Store... you may find an app there that will handle high rez images and give you the ease of use of an iPhone app.

Luck.

 

[robgendreau]

Maybe it would help if you tell us what other tools you have available to you.

PS is just a tool, a fairly complicated one as you've seen. Other tools are better for the job you are seeking to do. Filters and plugins and templates and macros and apps like seen on iOS all exist because people like you want an outcome quickly, easily, and cheaply. PS isn't designed to do this so pick something else if you can (and I suspect part of the problem is that all you've got is a phone and PS on a school computer).

In any case, there are lots of tutorials on how to do this; here's one:

http://alfoart.com/bokeh_effect_1.html

Good luck with your project.

 

[MattSepeta]

but what i don't get is why if you try to replicate something that is easily done on an iphone app on photoshop that it takes a much longer time with much more considerable effort and in my case a less desirable result!

What is there to not get? Photoshop is an incredibly advanced, $700 piece of software. It does not do ANYTHING with just a click, not even selective color

 

[chrono1081]

I just wanted to chime back in and say OP don't give up on Photoshop. Once you learn it its a VERY valuable tool for all kinds of different things.

 

[lucasgladding]

Thank you. how do i make this bokeh brush appear more 3 dimensional like the image i posted above?
it only lets me paint the brush in flat one dimensional colors.

I haven't ever tried to create the effect, but I would probably use 4 or 5 layers, setting separate opacities for each layer (between 20% and 50%), then paint some shapes where you want the "lighting effect". When you're done, you can apply gaussian blur to each layer to varying degrees. The developers for the iPhone app probably did this, saved the image, and apply it behind the scenes using a blend mode (multiply would be the first one I would use).

You'll find many cases where Photoshop doesn't provide an easy solution. It takes time and money to create and support plugins, and there might not be a good business case for creating them. Keep in mind that the images from the iPhone app could be opened in Photoshop, so you could consider the app a plugin of sorts, without limiting the user base to Photoshop owners.

I suspect Adobe hasn't had many requests for presets-based effects in Photoshop. Many users invest in Photoshop because they want more control than apps that take the preset approach, at least that was the impression I had when I did training and sales.

Finally, keep in mind that there are many kinds of apps that work with images. Editing (Photoshop), creation (Illustrator), and management (Lightroom) are the main ones I think about, but camera apps are becoming another popular focus, and those include apps like Instagram and the one you used as an example. While some apps might be higher-end the others, also keep in mind that some are designed for different purposes, so feature differences should be expected.

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I just wanted to chime back in and say OP don't give up on Photoshop. Once you learn it its a VERY valuable tool for all kinds of different things.

Don't give up on the other app either. See what you get using the two together. Better yet, keep experimenting with Photoshop to see how the presets were created, and try creating your own.

 

[lucasgladding]

but what i don't get is why if you try to replicate something that is easily done on an iphone app on photoshop that it takes a much longer time with much more considerable effort and in my case a less desirable result!

The thing to understand is that many could achieve a far superior effect with Photoshop. Bokeh is a natural phenomenon, and faking it well in photos means understanding what causes it, and knowing enough about color to know what works well.

For some examples that would have been created in Photoshop, see:
http://dribbble.com/tags/bokeh

If you keep working with Photoshop, I guarantee you'll change your opinion, though it might take a hundred hours or so before you do so.