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DPChallenge Forums >> Current Challenge >> Soft Focus - Show and Tell
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 05/07/2008 01:12:27 PM · #26
Is Soft Focus by post processing in PS allowed in basic editing ... or we have to achieve it only through the camera.
Please let me know.

I mean Gaussian BLur - isn't it against the basic editing rules ?????
 05/07/2008 01:16:08 PM · #27
Originally posted by ashishkushwaha:
Is Soft Focus by post processing in PS allowed in basic editing ... or we have to achieve it only through the camera.
Please let me know.

I mean Gaussian BLur - isn't it against the basic editing rules ?????

The answer is in here ==> Challenge Rule - Basic Editing. Hint - look in the area called 'You may'. :-)
 05/07/2008 01:32:39 PM · #28
If it's cold enough out you can lightly breath on your lens. That's what I did for this photo.
 05/07/2008 01:34:51 PM · #29
Oh and don't make the mistake I made last soft focus challenge. I created a duplicate layer and blurred it then decreased the opacity (ILLEGAL IN BASIC)
 05/07/2008 01:41:36 PM · #30
Originally posted by JustinM:
Oh and don't make the mistake I made last soft focus challenge. I created a duplicate layer and blurred it then decreased the opacity (ILLEGAL IN BASIC)


I had that in mind ... thanks for pointing it out .... whew ...
 05/07/2008 01:42:12 PM · #31
Originally posted by ssocrates:
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Use a piece of cellophane over the lens.

That and a bit of PWL, got me this:


Sorry to ask but what is a fiber optic snork, as referred on your comments in the pictures homepage??


The diameter of the mini maglite and the beam is much to wide to control when light painting on something this size. The snork consists of a rubber cap that covers the reflector end of the light with a small fiber optic coming out of the end, creating a light source that's maybe 4mm in diameter, yet still quite bright.
 05/07/2008 01:52:36 PM · #32
some great info here - i'm kind of excited to see what I can do with a little seran wrap over my lens. I swear I'm going to look like a fool taking photos this way, but oh well :)
 05/07/2008 01:53:42 PM · #33
Most all lenses have natural features that are quite often seldom considered when making digital soft focus effect. Totally legal in basic - use the focus ring for oof soft adjustment and also using wide open aperture.
 05/07/2008 02:34:17 PM · #34

05/07/2008 06:20:39 PM · #35
Originally posted by JustinM:
Oh and don't make the mistake I made last soft focus challenge. I created a duplicate layer and blurred it then decreased the opacity (ILLEGAL IN BASIC)


In advanced, I'd do this almost like HDR. Two shots with one sharp exposed correctly, the other a touch out of focus and a bit bright. Blend em together. Voila! Another day perhaps.

So thus far we have the following stuff applied to our lenses for this challenge:
- vasoline
- plastic wrap
- soft filters
- black nylons

Sounds almost like a recipe for a bad adult film. :)
05/07/2008 06:30:31 PM · #36
Originally posted by glad2badad:
Originally posted by ashishkushwaha:
Is Soft Focus by post processing in PS allowed in basic editing ... or we have to achieve it only through the camera.
Please let me know.

I mean Gaussian BLur - isn't it against the basic editing rules ?????

The answer is in here ==> Challenge Rule - Basic Editing. Hint - look in the area called 'You may'. :-)


if you blur the original picture only and not create a duplicate layer.... then it is legal? That is what I read.
 05/07/2008 06:43:27 PM · #37
As far as I remember you can add a Gaussian Blur to your original layer (not duplicates) and then Edit/Fade the Blur until you are happy with the results.
 05/08/2008 12:12:31 AM · #38
HEE HEE - I've had the stocking over the 50mm all day today. ;~)
 05/08/2008 12:19:34 AM · #39
I just used my crap lens.....it doesn't take sharp pictures at all. It got me the blue last time. So I guess it is good for something. LOL

Message edited by author 2008-05-08 00:19:52.
 05/08/2008 08:43:30 AM · #40
Originally posted by undieyatch:
Most all lenses have natural features that are quite often seldom considered when making digital soft focus effect. Totally legal in basic - use the focus ring for oof soft adjustment and also using wide open aperture.

That's not so much soft focus as out of focus though. The best soft focus shots will generally be taken with a wide aperture anyway, to maximise bokeh and the glow that results, but for it to be true soft focus it still has to be sharp, at least where you want it sharp. A transparent gaussian blur or a stocking filter all achieve the same effect, that is letting highlights bleed over onto surrounding darker areas - but without obliterating them.

Here's something i knocked up in 30 seconds from a recent challenge outtake, to illustrate basic-legal soft focus in postprocessing. The original image is already pretty soft, being shot with an f/1.5 85mm lens and sloppy manual focusing:


And here it is with a 50% transparent layer with gaussian blur set to 4 pixels wide.
(notice how the eyelashes remain sharp but fade a bit)

As an aside, here's what happens if you invert the gaussian blur layer (not sure if this is still legal in basic):


Message edited by author 2008-05-08 08:46:10.
 05/08/2008 08:43:53 AM · #41
Heh - can we use a fill layer in normal mode in Basic???
 05/08/2008 05:26:04 PM · #42
I purchased my soft focus filter this morning and it came with a free muffin. Some might argue that I bought a muffin and it came wrapped in a soft focus filter but that's just semantics. It didn't have a means to attach to my camera so I located a rubber band. (Which came with a spoon when I got my yogurt...don't ask me why the spoon had an elastic band on it.)

I'll post pictures on my elaborate setup and some of the results when I get home.

:)

Message edited by author 2008-05-08 17:30:06.
 05/08/2008 09:44:46 PM · #43
So I did up a quick shot in my dungeon with me fancy new Muffin© soft filter.


Too soft? Not soft enough?
05/08/2008 10:08:04 PM · #44
Originally posted by Citadel:
So I did up a quick shot in my dungeon with me fancy new Muffin© soft filter.


Too soft? Not soft enough?


The softness seems okay, but it's a bit too dark to get the full effect of the softness.
 05/08/2008 10:23:31 PM · #45
How can you achieve soft focusing in post processing that is legal in basic? (Besides just universal Gaussian blur)
 05/08/2008 10:33:14 PM · #46
Originally posted by Jutilda:
Heh - can we use a fill layer in normal mode in Basic???


Not if it contains pixel data.
 05/08/2008 10:33:49 PM · #47
Originally posted by delta:
How can you achieve soft focusing in post processing that is legal in basic? (Besides just universal Gaussian blur)


Noise reduction after resize really softens an image. There can be some nasty side effects though; it won't work on every image.
 05/08/2008 10:37:58 PM · #48
have we ruled that using Gaussian blur then decreasing opacity is illegal...?
 05/08/2008 10:58:26 PM · #49
Opacity? Of a layer? yeah.
 05/08/2008 11:29:38 PM · #50
Originally posted by delta:
have we ruled that using Gaussian blur then decreasing opacity is illegal...?


BUT if you just gaussian blur the original photo slightly... then you get soft focus... viola.. ;)
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