Foreground Blur

I have been told a number of times that I should crop out any foreground Blur because it's distracting.

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/...edited-2-1.jpg

When I look at this shot I like the fact that it has a blurry foreground, but I have also been told many times that I have no taste:(. Can somebody explain why doing what I have done above can be distracting. I made a version with the foreground cropped and though it looked flat and uninteresting.

I have trouble with this to.
Maybe someone can help us.

https://v4s1.yimg.com/te/8024/765008...be6e65d5_z.jpg
Yellowstone 2012 (1 of 1)-2 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

Here the foreground blur gives a sense of distance and scale to the hill/iceberg in the back. You can see how much water there is, and the relative sizes of the ice chunks, etc. You can see it's a fair way back, which helps convey the size of the ice in the background.

There is no such thing as a rule you should blindly follow 100% of the time, including cropping out blurry foregrounds.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raid

When I look at this shot I like the fact that it has a blurry foreground

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+1....and isn't that what matters.....:D

But I do also like the foreground blur. I think it adds to the shot.

BTW...this is one of my recent favorite shots that I've seen. Viewed over 36,000 times and favorited over 700 times. Without the foreground and background blur, it is just another shot:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7443/1...e8db2f26_o.jpg
surfers love ... by David Kracht, on Flickr

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jrw

In Nitehawk's deer shot the foreground blur presents an image that is not immediately clear to the viewer. There are more elements in this photo so it takes a few moments to figure out what is in front and what is behind. The people overlapping the antlers is what made it clear to me.

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And that is what I was going for in the shot.
To me my picture represents the common persons actual view of what wildlife looks like at Yellowstone.
Although few of us leave with this visual image in our mind. We remember an elk laying behind a log in its natural environment.


Back to the original post, as a component of a picture there is nothing wrong with foreground blur in a photograph. How we use foreground blur in a picture there may be something wrong with. But then also a very sharp in focus area of a picture can be a negative if it is improperly used and placed.

To me foreground and background blur is just another paint on the pallet, use it where appropriate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jrw

In the beach shot that is a deliberate messing about with a tilt/shift to create the 'miniature' effect to avoid the usual everything in focus landscape shot.

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This is only relevant because I was interested in how this shot was created. At first I thought it was done with a tilt/shift as well. But the EXIF is for a Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 lens @ f/5. So I imagine the effect was accomplished in post.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kayaker72

This is only relevant because I was interested in how this shot was created. At first I thought it was done with a tilt/shift as well. But the EXIF is for a Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 lens @ f/5. So I imagine the effect was accomplished in post.

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To me the shot is interesting because it framed the beach. But also when looking at it the bokeh does not look natural, it looks it was done in PS. The people on the stairs are in focus on the right, but part of the beach in the center is out of focus.

HD - Believe it or not they were still lying there in July of 2013. Recognize the charred log, etc.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busted Knuckles

HD - Believe it or not they were still lying there in July of 2013. Recognize the charred log, etc.

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North side of the West Thumb.

I believe you. I have been staying at a friends cabin for the last four years in West Yellowstone. Certain spots you always have a good chance at seeing something.

I also would believe you if you told me there were 100 people still there with a PS trying to get 10 yards from a sleeping elk.