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06/27/2004 03:34:01 AM · #1 |
 
I took these the other week. I haven't done this soft focus thing before so I was hoping that I could get some suggestions about them. Thanks :)
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06/27/2004 03:54:05 AM · #2 |
They have both worked very well. I've never played with soft focus, so haven't got anything constructive to suggest though, sorry.
I do prefer the one without the people. Maybe the one with the people has a little too much soft focus, I'm not sure.
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06/27/2004 04:09:34 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by mandyp:
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This one I like a lot. The soft focus adds to it considerably.
Originally posted by mandyp:
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This one I think the thumb biased me against it. By looking at the thumb, briefly as I clicked it, I was expecting the couple to be much darker than they are. I think they would have worked much better if they were much darker. The poles and building in the background that seem to extend from the one on the lefts head is quite distracting as well. The soft focus works well to convey a specific mood for this image, but these few elements of the image are not helping. Sorry. :(
Take what I say with the knowledge that I too have never played with soft focus to any significant degree -- just voicing what I see.
David
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06/27/2004 04:12:34 AM · #4 |
Thanks guys. Good point about the second one, I hadn't noticed the pole growing out of her head before :)
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06/27/2004 08:18:22 AM · #5 |
In my (limited) experience, soft focus works well or is most effective in portraits, typically faces. It also gives a softer look to zoomed in or singled out images where an extremely sharp image is undesirable. This softness can be used to coverup tiny flaws or small amounts of noise.
When using a duplicated layer that has been gaussian blurred and opacity adjusted on landscape type shots, it generally adds a haze or misty appearance which can either enhance or ruin a photo, more often the latter (but this could be my personal preference). In many cases, it adds a somewhat artificial look so one should be careful not to overuse this technique.
IMO, both of your examples are too soft. The landscape shot looks hazy, almost as if your lens was smudged or dirty. The second shot with the couple also appears very soft, almost out of focus. When using this technique, you still want defined edges but you want the image to have a soft glow to it.
For the PS settings you listed, I found it waaaaaay too blurred and way too opaque. Before you even blur, duplicate your layer and apply the unsharp mask if you haven't already sharpened your image. Then apply the gaussian blur to a copy of your sharpened layer.
I'm not sure what resolution the image you were editing was, but typically for 2560x1920, I'll gaussian blur no more than 10 pixels (which is pretty extreme). I usually blur about 4-6px. For an image 640x480, I'll blur around 2-3px. It depends on the image and also the subject.
Before:
After:
For this example, the image resolution was at 640x480 and I blurred 2px. Opacity adjusted to 50%. I'd tried to compromise, making sure the wall looked softer without blurring the girl too much which after all, she is the focus of this picture.
Generally when you blur something, you still want the image to be clear and somewhat recognizable, not totally reduced to an abstract smear of color. That way when you adjust opacity of your blurred layer, the "glow" will be much more defined and tighter around your subject. When adjusting your opacity, keep it between 30-40%. Experiment a bit but I suggest much less blur and lower opacity than what you've been using.
Remember, the less you blur the image, the more opaque you can leave the layer. More blur, less opacity. Try to find a nice balance.
Message edited by author 2004-06-27 08:41:57.
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06/27/2004 08:37:30 AM · #6 |
Thanks for this. I appreciate the time you took. I'll adjust my settings and keep experimenting.
Edit: Oh cool, I just refreshed and saw the thumbnails you posted.
Message edited by author 2004-06-27 08:39:16.
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06/27/2004 09:03:36 AM · #7 |
Glad you found my "tutorial" helpful :) Keep practicing and post up more of your soft focus experiments!
You may find that after blurring a layer that you lose too many details or edges. You may have to go back to your sharpened layer and resharpen it. Oversharpening will bring out the contrast between different colored pixels and may help to bring back and define the edges once again. I also tend to keep my blending mode on normal which you may want to consider.
Just trying to point you in the right direction. There is no correct formula or science to this.. only trial and error until you're happy with the results. This is afterall, an art ;)
Message edited by author 2004-06-27 09:10:57.
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