Tutorial: Depth of Field from Second Life Snapshots (Photoshop)

I apologize in advance for this being a Photoshop-specific tutorial! I am still very much a GIMP newbie, but, as soon as I learn the lay of the land for how to do this process in GIMP, you bet I'll be posting another tute for it! For now, Photoshoppers, here we go!

Today, we'll be learning how to combine a depth snapshot with a color snapshot to create the illusion of "depth of field" in your Second Life snapshots!

Let me define the term "depth of field" quick, just to give a frame of reference for those of you scratching your heads right now! The term "depth of field" refers to the portion of a photograph (or in this case, snapshot) that will be in-focus (i.e. not blurry!). What we are going to do here is make an attempt at mimicing real life photography by combining a depth shot with a color snapshot to immitate depth.

An example of a real life depth shot (we will be trying to mimic this effect with this tutorial):

Photo above provided by jezebelstock.

Things you will need before performing this tutorial:

1. Photoshop (sorry, GIMPers! At least for now! I promise I'll do my best to sort out a tutorial for you as well!)
2. A color snapshot AND a depth snapshot from Second Life (instructions on how to take both are to follow!)
3. About 4 minutes to watch the nifty-tifty video tutorial below!

Now, let's take a look at the snapshot tool and sort out how to take both color (regular) snapshots and depth shots.

In the image to your left, you will see the snapshot tool as it stands today in Second Life's RC viewer. This is typically the setup I use whenever I take snapshots in SL. You'll notice that my snapshot resolution (width/height) is about 3x what my actual screen resolution size is. This isn't a mandatory thing to do, but it is a good practice to get into -- it will reduce the noticeability of jagged edges on your snapshots, and give you a MUCH larger photo to work with.

As you'll see on the left, there is a small drop down box labeled "Capture". This is the drop down box you will need to use to switch between Colors (the regular snapshot) and Depth (the black and white depth snapshot you will see in the video). Whichever capture you chose to take is the one you will see in your preview window and save to your harddrive!

To take a depth shot using the Snapshot Tool in Second Life:

1. Open your snapshot tool

2. Click the Capture drop down menu box.

3. Select "Depth".

4. Choose "Refresh Snapshot". (NOTE: If you have the "auto-refresh" option checked, you will not need to perform this step.)

5. Save the snapshot to your hard drive.

Don't forget to also take a COLORS snapshot (a regular snapshot) of the scene first. I often take a regular snapshot first and THEN a depth shot. I also notice that depth shots take about twice as long to capture as regular snaps do, so don't despair if it takes a bit longer than usual!

With me so far? GREAT! Watch the video below to discover how to combine the two! As usual, please feel free to post any questions in the comments section. I will do my best to answer them for you if I can! If I can't, I will do my best to find the answer!