Sep 7, 2004, 12:44
By request, my soft focus action set is available for download here:
Mitch's Soft Focus Action
There are THREE different actions within the set. These should be run after all other edits have been made, including sharpening. Note that these are diffusion effects, and are not the same as "skin smoothing" actions which, in my opinion, typically look very artificial.
The first action in the set, SF-Original, is more-or-less the version recommended by Katrin Eismann in her book Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, though I have modified it a little bit. It's a good general-purpose soft-focus effect, achieving diffusion without altering luminosity much.
I made the second version, SF-Lens, in response to someone's comment on another forum that Photoshop could not be used to replicate the effect of a Canon 135mm Soft Focus lens. Phooey to that! Here you will find that luminosity is affected more than in the other version, as this action is biased toward highlight diffusion. I tend to use this more than the other.
With both of the above, you can control the amount of the effect universally, by using the opacity slider for the sf layer, or selectively, by adding a layer mask and painting black over areas where you want to bring back sharpness (e.g., eyes, teeth, etc.)
The third action, SF EdgeMask, creates a mask over edges where you might want to retain sharpness. It should be run AFTER one of the other SF actions has been run.
Here is a link to a "before" image. Madelyn Before Soft Focus
Click the "next" link on the upper right hand side of the page to see an "after" version using the SF-Original at 70% opacity. You can toggle between the "previous" and "next" links to see the effect toggled.
From the SF-Original page, clicking "next" will take you to the SF-Lens version, also at 70% opacity, where you can again toggle back and forth.
Finally, clicking "next" from the SF-lens page will show you the mask created by the EdgeMask action, so you can see where sharpness would have been restored. Note that I did not run an edge mask or reduce the softness in any way in the sample images; normally I would use the edge mask and sometimes further reduce the effect on the eyes.
TWO IMPORTANT POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND:
First, the amount of blur used in the action was geared to 6mp files, though it should work fine for files in the 5mp to 7mp range. At 4mp or less, one may wish to reduce the amount of blur applied, while at 8mp or higher one may want more. A simple adjustment to the action settings can be used to customize to the user. If I ever learn to use scripts in PS, then I can have the action adjust automatically but I don't know how to use that yet.
Second, the Canon SF Lens has two soft focus settings. In the action, the default opacity setting for "SF-Lens" is a little less than what the actual lens gives on the weaker setting 1. As I recall, 70% is closer to actual level 1, while 90% opacity is more like setting 2. So the action was really designed to give just a minimal diffusion effect and then be adjusted to taste. Of course if you are happy with it at the default opacity, then that's great! The EdgeMask should work fine on anything larger than 2mp, but is not intended for images already reduced for web display.
Mitch's Soft Focus Action
There are THREE different actions within the set. These should be run after all other edits have been made, including sharpening. Note that these are diffusion effects, and are not the same as "skin smoothing" actions which, in my opinion, typically look very artificial.
The first action in the set, SF-Original, is more-or-less the version recommended by Katrin Eismann in her book Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, though I have modified it a little bit. It's a good general-purpose soft-focus effect, achieving diffusion without altering luminosity much.
I made the second version, SF-Lens, in response to someone's comment on another forum that Photoshop could not be used to replicate the effect of a Canon 135mm Soft Focus lens. Phooey to that! Here you will find that luminosity is affected more than in the other version, as this action is biased toward highlight diffusion. I tend to use this more than the other.
With both of the above, you can control the amount of the effect universally, by using the opacity slider for the sf layer, or selectively, by adding a layer mask and painting black over areas where you want to bring back sharpness (e.g., eyes, teeth, etc.)
The third action, SF EdgeMask, creates a mask over edges where you might want to retain sharpness. It should be run AFTER one of the other SF actions has been run.
Here is a link to a "before" image. Madelyn Before Soft Focus
Click the "next" link on the upper right hand side of the page to see an "after" version using the SF-Original at 70% opacity. You can toggle between the "previous" and "next" links to see the effect toggled.
From the SF-Original page, clicking "next" will take you to the SF-Lens version, also at 70% opacity, where you can again toggle back and forth.
Finally, clicking "next" from the SF-lens page will show you the mask created by the EdgeMask action, so you can see where sharpness would have been restored. Note that I did not run an edge mask or reduce the softness in any way in the sample images; normally I would use the edge mask and sometimes further reduce the effect on the eyes.
TWO IMPORTANT POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND:
First, the amount of blur used in the action was geared to 6mp files, though it should work fine for files in the 5mp to 7mp range. At 4mp or less, one may wish to reduce the amount of blur applied, while at 8mp or higher one may want more. A simple adjustment to the action settings can be used to customize to the user. If I ever learn to use scripts in PS, then I can have the action adjust automatically but I don't know how to use that yet.
Second, the Canon SF Lens has two soft focus settings. In the action, the default opacity setting for "SF-Lens" is a little less than what the actual lens gives on the weaker setting 1. As I recall, 70% is closer to actual level 1, while 90% opacity is more like setting 2. So the action was really designed to give just a minimal diffusion effect and then be adjusted to taste. Of course if you are happy with it at the default opacity, then that's great! The EdgeMask should work fine on anything larger than 2mp, but is not intended for images already reduced for web display.
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Everybody got to elevate from the norm!
![[Image: MSF-Tahlee.jpg]](http://www.shuttertalk.com/forums/images/upload/MSF-Tahlee.jpg)
Thanks for fixing the soft focus link. I downloaded it, and am looking forward to trying it out.
