Focus Group Effect in Bree Photo

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Note: Screenshots in this tutorial may show GIMP branding, but all menus, tool names, and keyboard shortcuts are identical in Bree Photo and the steps can be followed directly.

This tutorial explains how to use layer masks and blend modes to make the subject of a photo stand out from the background. The examples are based on three photographs by John Brewer.

Example 1: Teh Tarik

The original photo has an overly bright background and the subject is not prominent. The approach is:

• Darken the background with the Multiply blend mode;
• Brighten the subject (the person and the stream of tea) with the Screen blend mode.

Steps

1. Duplicate the original layer twice.
2. Set the bottom duplicate to Screen mode so the subject is easier to see while painting the mask.
3. Add a black layer mask to the top duplicate: Layer → Mask → Add Layer Mask… → Black (full transparency).
4. Select a hard-edged brush and paint with white on the mask over the subject: first the tea stream, then outline the person.
5. Press X to swap foreground/background colors so you can easily paint with black to correct overpainted areas.
6. After painting, Alt+Click the mask thumbnail to inspect it, and use the Bucket Fill Tool to fill the inside of the subject.
7. When satisfied:
8. Change the middle layer (originally Screen) to Multiply;
9. Keep the top masked layer as Screen.

Multiply ignores white and darkens dark areas, making the background darker; Screen ignores black and lightens light areas, restoring brightness to the subject.

Finally, crop as desired.

Example 2: Singapore Festival

Goal: make the woman and child the “focus group” while the surrounding crowd recedes into the background.

1. Duplicate the original layer and rename it Background.
2. Desaturate or fade the Background layer so it is less eye-catching. Options:
3. Colors → Hue-Chroma: shift toward yellow and reduce Chroma;
4. Colors → Desaturate → Sepia, lowered to 70% opacity;
5. Or Colors → Colorize with bf9740 at 50% opacity.
6. Duplicate the original layer again and move it to the top, then add a black layer mask.
7. Paint with white on the mask over the focus group: the woman, the two children, and the incense.
8. To emphasize the subject further, duplicate the focus-group layer, set it to Soft Light mode, and reduce opacity to 50% to increase contrast.
9. Crop to reduce distracting surrounding elements.

Background Alternatives

• Blurred background: use G’MIC-Qt’s Repair → Smooth Median.
• Artistic effects: Filters → Artistic → Soft Glow, or G’MIC’s pencil stylization combined with Sepia.

Example 3: Stormy Beach

This image needs two different blend modes applied separately to the sky and the sea:

1. Duplicate the original layer and set its blend mode to Multiply (to darken the sky).
2. Add a white layer mask and paint with black to hide the sea, keeping only the sky.
3. Duplicate this layer and rename it Sea.
4. With the Sea layer’s mask selected, choose Colors → Invert so the mask inverts, hiding the sky and revealing the sea.
5. Change the Sea layer blend mode to Overlay to bring out the rock and wave textures.
6. Reduce the opacity of both layers to about 80%.

Three Core Blend Modes

Screen, Multiply, and Overlay do not cause clipping; modes such as Dodge, Addition, and Burn can lead to loss of highlight or shadow detail and should be used with care.

Source & License

This tutorial is adapted from John Brewer’s Focus Group, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.