OT? How do I soften a portrait?

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Sheldon - 07 Jul 2006 19:38 GMT

I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
using Elements 2.0.

Damn those sharp Nikon lenses. :-)

Sheldon

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tomm42 - 07 Jul 2006 20:38 GMT

> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
> using Elements 2.0.
>
> Damn those sharp Nikon lenses. :-)
>
> Sheldon

You can try a light overall Gausian Blur with a level of 1-2, make a
selection and Gausian Blur that. Use the bluring tool and smooth out
the lines on the face selectively. I like the latter because it looks
less like a "blurry portrait". But I tend to like sharp pics. I'm sure
others will have more suggestions.

Tom

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Sheldon - 07 Jul 2006 22:17 GMT

>> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
>> using Elements 2.0.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Tom

I hear ya, but what if you want to soften the entire pic at once? There has
to be a way.

Sheldon

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mark.thomas.7@gmail.com - 07 Jul 2006 22:33 GMT

> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
> using Elements 2.0.
>
> Damn those sharp Nikon lenses. :-)
>
> Sheldon

There are many ways to do it, and many free actions around.. But I
like to simply create a duplicate layer, Gaussian blur the lower layer,
then sharpen the top layer, then adjust transparency of the sharp layer
to taste...

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Sheldon - 07 Jul 2006 23:01 GMT

>> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
>> using Elements 2.0.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> then sharpen the top layer, then adjust transparency of the sharp layer
> to taste...

Thanks.

I found "blur," but what exactly is "Gaussian" blur? I also found that I
can simply use a blur filter but it takes forever as the result of one click
is very subtle. By clicking over and over using the blur filter I can
definitely see a difference when I put the original and blurred image side
by side and blow them up, so I'm getting closer. Is there a way to adjust
the amount of effect for each click?

I also thought that adding noise was a nice effect, but not what I'm really
looking for.

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Sheldon - 07 Jul 2006 23:20 GMT

Okay. I found Gaussen blur and I'm getting much closer to what I want now.

Thanks everyone for your help -- at least I'm off to a good start -- and I
think it's time to sign up for a Photoshop course. :-)

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Mick Anderson - 08 Jul 2006 00:45 GMT

> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
> using Elements 2.0.
>
> Damn those sharp Nikon lenses. :-)

If you think that Nikon lenses are too sharp then I'd stay well away from
Canon's range! :)

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Sheldon - 08 Jul 2006 00:55 GMT

>> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
>> using Elements 2.0.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> If you think that Nikon lenses are too sharp then I'd stay well away from
> Canon's range! :)

Fish gotta swim. Birds gotta fly. :-)

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Randall Ainsworth - 08 Jul 2006 17:27 GMT

> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
> using Elements 2.0.

The best way is to do it when creating the portrait using a lens
designed for soft-focus. I don't know what Nikon has available. But
back in my film days, I loved the soft-focus lens for the RB67.

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Sheldon - 08 Jul 2006 20:16 GMT

>> I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
>> using Elements 2.0.
>
> The best way is to do it when creating the portrait using a lens
> designed for soft-focus. I don't know what Nikon has available. But
> back in my film days, I loved the soft-focus lens for the RB67.

After the days of wrapping a nylon stocking over your lens, they came out
with and still have softening portrait filters. Seems to be a lot easier
doing it with Elements, once you figure out how. Besides, if you have large
pieces of glass, the filters can wind up costing more than the software. lol

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Randall Ainsworth - 09 Jul 2006 18:45 GMT

> After the days of wrapping a nylon stocking over your lens, they came out
> with and still have softening portrait filters. Seems to be a lot easier
> doing it with Elements, once you figure out how. Besides, if you have large
> pieces of glass, the filters can wind up costing more than the software. lol

I've tried more soft-focus do-dads through the years. I have a complete
set of Hasselblad Softars and they're not bad. Tried Yary diffusers on
the RB, and the best way so far was a real soft-focus lens designed
along the lines of the Imagon.

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David Dyer-Bennet - 09 Jul 2006 00:28 GMT

> > I'd like to be able to soften a portrait, hopefully after the fact. I'm
> > using Elements 2.0.
>
> The best way is to do it when creating the portrait using a lens
> designed for soft-focus. I don't know what Nikon has available. But
> back in my film days, I loved the soft-focus lens for the RB67.

That'd be the 105mm and 135mm DC lenses (that's "defocus control").
I'm sure there's information on Nikon's and other web pages, and I've
never owned one so I can't say much more than that they exist and are
fast (both f/2).

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