Digital Focus: More Tricks for Putting Motion in Photos

More ways to add motion to your photos; put photos on DVD.

Dave Johnson

Feature: Adding Motion, Part II

If you've ever seen action-packed photos from an auto race, you know how successfully motion blur can be used to add a sense of excitement to otherwise static pictures. Last week I introduced you to the idea of adding motion blur digitally. In a nutshell, we selected a parked Maruti SUV in a photograph and applied a dab of motion blur to give it the impression of motion.

This week we'll use another method to add a sense of motion. We'll blur the background, leaving the vehicle itself intact. This often is a better technique to use, since it's the way these kinds of scenes are typically photographed in real life.

Feel free to try this technique on one of my photos. Once you've downloaded the file, load it into Paint Shop Pro or whatever image editor you prefer.

Select the Vehicle

Now it's time to use the Freehand tool to select the vehicle, just like we did last week. First look for the Freehand tool (it looks like a lasso) in the toolbar and click on it. In the Tools Options dialog box, be sure the tool is set to Smart Edge. (If you don't see the Tools Options dialog box, you can right-click on the toolbar and choose it.)

Next, with Smart Edge enabled, click somewhere on the edge of the Maruti and move the cursor along the edge. You'll see a selection box appear; when you click again, Paint Shop Pro will automatically select the edge of the vehicle that falls somewhere within the rectangle. Work your way around the Maruti, selecting little pieces at a time, until you're back where you started. Double-click to close the selection and encase the entire vehicle.

We want to apply motion blur to the background, so we need to invert our selection to select the entire background. Any blur we apply won't affect the Maruti. To do this, just choose Selections, Invert.

Time to Blur

Now it's time to apply some blur. Choose Effects, Blur, Motion Blur, then set the Direction control to 270 degrees, so the direction of the blur points behind the vehicle. Set the Intensity to 40 pixels and click OK.

You'll see a fairly plausible example of motion blur, but it's not perfect. Notice that you can still clearly see the background through the front of the windshield. That's easy to correct. Right-click anywhere on the image to eliminate the current selection, then use the Smart Edge Freehand tool to select the portion of the windshield that looks directly into the storefronts. After you complete the selection, apply the motion blur again.

One final touch: The wheels should be spinning. A quick solution to this glaring error is to select the two driver-side wheels and add some blur by choosing Effects, Blur, Blur. There are fancier solutions, but this will do in a pinch. Your image should now look something like mine.

Dave's Favorites: Great DVD Slide Shows With MyDVD

In this week's Q&A, Jim Quinn asked about making digital slide shows on DVD. I recommended several programs, but I do have a personal favorite.

Sonic's tightly focused MyDVD takes a collection of video clips and still images and pours them onto a disc, complete with a DVD chapter menu. Don't look for tons of video editing features in this program; that's not what it's about. Instead, when you start the program and select the option to make a DVD, MyDVD immediately displays a blank menu into which you can add video clips and images, organize their thumbnails, and finally burn the whole shebang to a disc.

This program is designed to make beginners look like pros, but pros will feel stymied by the rigid rules that define how the menus look. What do I mean? Try this on for size: MyDVD supports Motion Menus, a clever feature seen in some commercial DVDs in which the menu buttons play short clips of the scene they represent. That's cool, but MyDVD doesn't let you specify what part of the clip a button will play. And Motion Menus require you to use one of the program's motion-enabled templates, all of which feature animated backgrounds. Oddly enough, you can disable the motion buttons and simply animate the background, but you can't run animated buttons over a static background.

But if you are more interested in making slide shows of still images than creating movies, you'll really like MyDVD. With it you can create a DVD with multiple slide shows, each with any number of images and a.wav,.wma, or.mp3 soundtrack. And MyDVD has a cool feature I haven't seen anywhere else: The program can store full-resolution versions of your still images on the DVD, so your friends or family can watch the pictures on a TV and later access higher-quality versions for archiving and printing.

I've seen MyDVD for about $65, but you can find the latest prices at PCWorld.com's Product Finder.

Q&A: Can I Put Digital Pictures on DVD?

Are there any programs available that will let me put my digital images into slide shows that will play from a DVD? I want to make DVDs of my pictures that I can send to family members who don't have computers.

--Jim Quinn, Dayton, Ohio

I've been asked this question a lot. Until recently there weren't many programs around that did this kind of thing, but now you've got plenty of choices.

You're looking for a DVD burning and video editing program. Many of these programs can play a series of still images in slide-show form, complete with a musical soundtrack (.wav or.mp3 files). While these programs are actually designed for video production, you certainly don't need a camcorder or any video clips to make DVD slide shows. Any of them will let you create multiple slide shows, each with its own menu button on the DVD start screen.

I searched our Product Finder and found a couple of worthy candidates: Sonic's MyDVD Video Suite, which I profiled in Dave's Favorites; and Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 2, which I saw for about $50. There are other options as well, such as CyberLink's $95 PowerDirector Pro and Broderbund's $69 MovieShop Deluxe.

Hot Pic of the Week

Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality and technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize valued at between $15 and $50.

Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering please read the full description of the contest rules and regulations.

This week's Hot Pic: "Tawas Point Lighthouse," by Don Pullem, Rochester Hills, Michigan

Don writes: "Tawas Point Lighthouse is on Lake Huron, only a few minutes away from our summer cottage in Oscoda, Michigan. A complete restoration of this lighthouse was completed this past summer. It is located on a point overlooking Tawas Bay. The park located there is operated by the State of Michigan and is a great place to spend a day picnicking and swimming."

Don goes on to say that he took the photo with a Canon PRO90 with a tripod shortly after dusk. Great job! Ironically, I lived in Oscoda--just down the road from Tawas--for three years and had no idea this lighthouse even existed!

We want your feedback! Send your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself to comments@bydavejohnson.com. If you have a question that you'd like to see answered in the weekly Q&A, send it to question@bydavejohnson.com.

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