Photoshop soft filter

[karusel]

This may be a n00b question, but I was wondering, what you use to achieve equal effect in PS like soft filter on a lens. Is it simply blur, gaussian blur perhaps? I never actually printed a blurred photo and it's hard to tell what's what on the screen...

[RichardtheSane]

I tend to create a duplicate layer in PS, then do a gaussian blur on that layer. Then adjust the opacity of thal layer untill I achieve the effect I want

[w10d]

Remember there's a difference between shooting through a soft focus filter and printing with a soft filter over the enlarger lens. Its about the light bleeding into the dark, with a neg the light is the shadow...

Adding to Richard's suggestion, you can use Lighten or Darken blending modes to vary the effect. In fact, look at the other blending modes, and try them with reduced opacity too. Also, don't forget the 'Bend If' sliders in the Layer styles dialog (one of PS's well hidden tools). Option click the slider to feather the effect. Try these things with other types of blur, and Median Filter too.

[stopbath]

You may also have an option to apply a Selective Blur which will blur any area where the contrast is below a selected threshold. I've used this in GIMP and it creates a nice effect. I don't know what the name is in PhotoShop (or if it's even available, but I guess it would be.)

[agent22]

Hi there,

I'm not certain this is exactly what you're looking for, but you can download a free Photoshop "soft focus" action here (http://www.nickgallery.com/web_pages/technical%208.htm).