PhotoShopping: Soft Focus Photo Filters!

Two Photoshop plug-in filters were used above. “Shatter”, by Zenofex at AlienSkin, was the first filter. You can also try Photoshop’s built-in crystallize filter.

A soft blur was the second one. My purpose was to capture an intimate moment in the harbor. Instead of putting each filter at 100 % and risking having the viewer see just a special effect, the filters were gently applied at 50% or less strength using Edit > Fade Filter ( Shift > Ctrl > F ) to parts of the image, adding to the mood in the evening light. While detail is reduced in the sky and water to enhance the mood and to draw the eye to the people, the foreground is left in soft focus. Below is the same image, a sharp postcard for the city with text but no filtration, for comparison.

The original article in color can be found at www.jimages.com ©2003.

Jim Austin, M.A., A.C.E.
Adobe Certified Expert

All written content (and most images) in these articles are copyrighted by the authors. Copyrighted material from Apogee Photo Mag should not be used elsewhere without seeking the authors permission.

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