EUREKA!  Hurry.  Success.

As you can tell from the image I uploaded I am finally on the right track with this whole don’t use Poser DOF but use the Z depth/Depth_Cue thing. It isn’t perfect yet, bur now I’m on the right road. Thanks to all the above for the help and your patience.

What good would be this forum string if I did not share what I’ve learned?

So here is my step-by-step guide for faking a DOF on a post render in Photoshop. Treat this not so much as a tutorial but more like the “Cliff Notes” to the tutorial.

Step 1) Compose, light and render your scene.

2. Once you have you final rendered you scene to the images size and quality of detail that you want save your work, then do a save as (you might want to change the name of the file to include depth cue) this will now be the file you will work of to make your Z depth render.

Z depth render is a render that will make the things closest to the camera black and the things farthest from the camera white and the stuff in between shades of gray. The default for this is way off, to get numbers that will work better you need to show and use the focus distance guide.

3. On the parameter dials switch to the camera that you used to render; note the focus_distance dial. Next click on Display, click on Guides and then click on Focus Distance guide (this is the guide that lets you know what part of the scene will be in focus if you where to use the DOF).

4. Adjust the focus_distance dial until the Focus Distance guide is where the front of your scene is; note the number by the dial mark it as DepthCue_StartDis (see step 7). Next adjust the focus_distance dial until the Focus Distance guide is where the back of your scene is; note the number by the dial mark it as DepthCue_EndDis (see step 7).

5. Now working off of you copy file, delete all your light, DO NOT JUST TURN THEM OFF, this is one of the main reasons you’re doing this on a copy. If you r scene is complete black, the go to step 6. If your scene has some glowing objects or figures see step 5A/B/C/D.

5A) If you have things glowing, then go to the material room and click on advance. For each object or figure disconnect all the nodes (I like to also click on remove all disconnect nodes). Figures will have several materials and all the material will need to have their nodes disconnected.

5B) Check the material menu and go through all the materials that are listed one by one.

5C) In the main node click on all the little colored rectangles and change their color to black. This is another good reason to work off of a copy.

5D) Repeat steps A - C for everything listed in the Object menu that is glowing in your darkened scene.

5E) Once your scene is completely black and if you haven’t done so yet, then this might be a good time to do a save. Go to step 5.

6. Now that your scene is completely black you might want to save. Go to the material room click on advance from the object menu chose atmosphere.

7. On the atmosphere node on the top line, DepthCue_on click a check in the box. The third line, DepthCue_color click on the little rectangle and change the color to white. On the fourth line change that number to the number you marked as DepthCue_StartDis (everything at this point and closer to the camera will be black everything behind that point will be shades of gray). Now for the fifth Change that number to the number you had marked DepthCue_EndDis (every thing at this point and further away from the camera will be white everything before will be shades of gray).

8. Maybe s good time to save. Go to the pose room. Click on render setting and click on Poser 4. Uncheck everything, BUT DO CHECK Ignore Shade trees.

9. Click on FireFly; make whatever changes to speed up render time. (I might even reduce the Render Dimensions to mach the Preview Dimensions; you can make it bigger in Photoshop. Rendering speed here is important not image quality.)

10. Render. You should have an image where the things closest are black with shades of gray getting light the further back until you have whit at the back of your scene.

11. Export Image any format.

12. Start Photoshop, open your Z depth file and save as (for safety work on a copy).

13. Change mode to gray scale. Open levels, click auto and click ok. Open the info pallet and find the percent of the gray section that you want to keep sharp, note it.

14. Next you want to make everything sharp to become white and everything you want out of focus to go gray or black. To do this open curves, make the graph a horizontal line against the bottom, image should become white. Take a good guess as to where you precent is and click, if you missed that is O.K. just type the right number in the input field. Now pull up the far right end all the way up and then the far left end all the way up. If you chose the right precent for the in focused stuff then they will be white and everything else will be either gray or black; if not try, try and try again When you have got it good click O.K.

15. If needed, then do an image size and bring it up to match the image you are going to adjust.

16. Do a select all and copy.

17. Open the image your are going to adjust, Open the channels pallet, if needed make a new channel. Past in the Z depth render on the new channel. Chose RGB. Click on select, click on load selection and chose the channel that you pasted the Z depth and then click O.K. the parts that you want to make out of focus are now selected, have fun.

Sorry this became longer then the Cliff Notes version, but I had fun writing it. So if any of you, who know this stuff better please fell free to post corrections and/or clarifications. Please, please let’s do not argue over the small stuff. There are many ways to solve a problem, but does it matter what way is used as long as we like the results we get?