 Marc D. Bell |
How to Soften a Portrait? I wish someone could tell me the best (and best priced) photo program that is easy to use. I'm wanting on occasion to soften a close up portrait. I currently use Adobe 7.0, I've had it for several years and to be honest I don't use it much. Thank you!
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Orton effect http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0106/dw0106-1.html
Open any image you wish to try the technique on. Make a duplicate of the image (Image>Duplicate). Close the original image.
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
I also use a couple of varied ways of doing this effect. Sometimes I just duplicate the image and apply Gaussian Blur and then use the opacity slider to control how much blur there is. You can also use the brush tool on the duplicate layer and remove some of the blur to specific parts of the image to make those areas a little less blurry. I sometimes will brush over someones face/eyes to make them sharper against the contrasting softness. Using layers is the most powerful tool in PS. Lewis Kemper's Toolbox 1 class is very in depth working with layers. The class is intense but the amount of knowledge & tools you will learn will greatly enhanse your ability to work images in different ways.
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Richard Lynch |
An easy way to do this is (on a flattened image):
My Correct and Enhance Your Images and Leveraging Layers: Photoshop's Most Powerful Tool courses provide more details on this and MANY other effects and techniques.
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Marc D. Bell |
Thank you Carlton and Richard for your advice. I appreciate it.
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Tony Sweet |
Risking sounding like an anachronism, how about just using a Singh Ray Soft Ray filter? Just pop it on the lens and take the picture. The approx. $200 price tag will certainly pay for itself in the time not spent in the digital darkroom. Check out: http://singhray.com to see some example images.
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Tony Sweet |
Risking sounding like an anachronism, how about just using a Singh Ray Soft Ray filter? Just pop it on the lens and take the picture. The approx. $200 price tag will certainly pay for itself in the time not spent in the digital darkroom. Check out: http://singhray.com to see some example images.
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Marc D. Bell |
Thank you, Tony, actually using a filter was my first thought. Especially since I'm far from being hip to photoshop. I'll admit I'm a total dummy when it comes to adobe or any other form of program to fix, manipulate or otheriwise alter photos. I try to get the shot I want with my camera and not worry about having to spend the time I don't have in photoshop "digital darkroom". I will check out the Singh Ray filter, Tiffen has a soft filter as well ... Any info on that? If you don't mind, I'd also like to ask you this (not to change the subject, but I noticed your a Nikon guy like me). I was looking into getting the D2Xs but someone else told me to take a long look at Nikon's D300. I'd welcome any thoughts you have on this. Thanks!
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Tony Sweet |
You may want to get into some Photoshop stuff. You don't need to know a lot, but you do need to know how to increase contrast, adjust saturation, and sharpen for print. This is essential no matter how little you want to use PS, in order to get the picture to look like a slide. In regards to filters, the Singh Ray soft ray is about the best-quality soft filter out there. Zoftar is also quite good, comparable to the Singh Ray. Tiffen filters are lower quality and inconsistent (in my experience). Nothing good is cheap. Take a look at the D300. I have a D3 and D300, and both are the current state of the art. I'm putting together a course on the D300 beginning in Feb. You'll be able to see a course description in a couple of weeks on the site. The D2X is a professional camera with a better metering system in marginal light than the D200/300 and is better sealed against the elements. It's your choice. You can probably get a used D2Xs in excellent condition for a good price if you look around.
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Richard Lynch |
I'd agree with Tony that shooting how you want it is probably the best idea: there is never a better solution than shooting it right first (and Tony has some great courses that help show you how!). But when you find you didn't do it, digital processing can be your second best solution. Richard Lynch
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Marc D. Bell |
Thank you Tom & (Richard). I've used the D2Xs and love the way it handles. I'll wait a little longer and let the price drop a bit or as you state, just plain look around and try to get a good deal on one. I also thank you re: PS. I do use it to increase contrast and sharpen. Thanks again guys, Marc
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Vicki L. Filippin |
Are these suggestions the same that are used for 'glamour' images? I've seen so many portraits out there where the faces are flawless but the eyes and other detail is crystal clear. I'm wanting to learn how to do just that. Any other suggestions? Thanks! Vicki
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Richard Lynch |
Vicki, Soft focus is indeed often a component of glamour photos...magically reducing skin flaws and such. Here you have solutions from both sides of processing. You may need to do more in post processing to reduce blemishes, lines, wrinkles, etc., but makup is the alternative. Richard Lynch
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Vicki L. Filippin |
Thanks for the quick reply, Richard. I've used the Orton effect on nature shots, but not portraits. I'll give them all a try and see which I like best. Regards, Vicki
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Phyllis C. Stockfisch |
You asked about a program. I too get very frustrated with Photoshop even though it does everything imaginable. Try Lightroom. The learing curb is quick and easy. I have cut my dark room time in a 3rd and for the first time ever I have my photos organized. It doesn't entirely replace Photoshop but it cures a lot of ills.
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
CS3 has some automated tools that make enhancemants a lot easier. You can create an action to include levels, curves, saturation, Gaussian Blur, etc.. and set the desired amount for each adjustment. You can also apply stopping points to tweak a specific one (or all) or just let it run. It will do several adjustments in just seconds when performing the action. You can select which adjustments you want for an action and save it and create several more actions for different effects. I think I will create one for the Orton effect and place a stopping point after blur is added in case I want to remove the amount of blur in some areas. CS3 Camera Raw converter is also much easier and with better control than previous versions. It also has automated features but I tend to play a little more with my raw images and haven't used any automation yet. I know Photoshop can be a bit intimidating but it is such a powerful tool and I enjoy the large learning curve and the pleasant surprises I get when I learn something new about it.
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David B. Coblitz |
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