Icky faces

I just got two new lenses that are very sharp. The only trouble is that this sharpness shows every flaw in a person's skin. I'm only shooting outdoors right now. Is there a filter used to prevent seeing these imperfections? Or, is over-exposing the best answer? I'm new at this and I just want some help because this is what I love.

Smooth them up in post.

Pretty much any decent image editor will handle that, either manually or by a single command.

Spot healing works wonders. If you really want to get rid of it when you're taking the picture I suppose you could short the focus ever-so-slightly before you snap the shot, although that would kind of defeat the purpose of having high-quality glass in the first place...

You don't say what camera. My 30D has "picture styles", some of which reduce sharpness.

Portrait style (not the same as the portrait mode on the dial) reduces sharpness slightly from Standard style, while Neutral applies no sharpness at all.

I agree with Ade, that softening is best done in post processing...

-js

number six wrote in post #5619467
You don't say what camera. My 30D has "picture styles", some of which reduce sharpness.

Portrait style (not the same as the portrait mode on the dial) reduces sharpness slightly from Standard style, while Neutral applies no sharpness at all.

I agree with Ade, that softening is best done in post processing...

-js

I'm pretty certain those only apply to JPG shots though.

litkaj wrote in post #5619509
I'm pretty certain those only apply to JPG shots though.

Yes and no. If you shoot RAW and use DPP for conversion the camera's picture style will be applied. Or you can select from the same set of styles from DPP's menu.

-js

Get a pair of sheer black pantyhose. Shred 'em up and put a piece over the lens. Voila, instant "beauty glow." Of course, if you want to be a little more pro about it, they do make diffusion filters.

Or, do it in post.

Buy a cheaper lens....

^hehe I use a PF filter (pretty face) for that.

Kinda like nice cars... You pay the extra money to buy the nice car, but now you gotta spend more money on insurance, maintainece, safer parking spot blah blah blah. Now that you are stepping up a notch it takes a little more time and work. Photoshop and the healing brush...

http://www.portraitpro​fessional.com/

Check this out!! I got it the other day and love it. Only prob is you can go too far. A little goes a long way.

Double Negative wrote in post #5619668
Get a pair of sheer black pantyhose. Shred 'em up and put a piece over the lens. Voila, instant "beauty glow." Of course, if you want to be a little more pro about it, they do make diffusion filters.

Or, do it in post.

Okay, so maybe it is the blond in me but I can't vision this. You put it over the glass shredded? eh?

JenniferLShort wrote in post #5619895
Okay, so maybe it is the blond in me but I can't vision this. You put it over the glass shredded? eh?

ROFL... Not quite.

You can cut it up into a round piece, or 4x4" square piece, whatever. And stretch it flat/straight over the front of the lens - use a rubber band to hold it in place or even a UV filter screwed in over it (holding it in place via the threads).

In Ye Olden Dayes we would smear a thin film of Vaseline on the lens to get soft portraits.

Better to do this to a UV filter, though. Easier to clean off.

-js

^ Yep, an old (even scratched) UV filter is ideal for that. Baby oil also works, but the Vaseline is much better. You can even do patterns in it with your fingers...

You can also use "cling wrap" over the front of the lens.

If you want to simulate fog/haze, use white sheer pantyhose instead.

I use Photo Brush for most of my more intensive PP. It is great software written by an avid photographer, I'm told. Regardless it works excellent and makes photo touch ups very easy.

For quick and simple touch ups, Faststone Viewer is great. It even does great batch conversions and batch renaming.

Good luck!

Jim