Shots Photography

Stop Parking Domain Names
Powered by WhyPark.com
 

Diffusion & Softening of Digital Photography Images


Like many people who've made the switch from film cameras to digital, I've discovered that the lens tools I once used so effectively on my cameras to soften, diffuse and vignette my images for quality "finished" professional results won't do for digital what they did for film.

I'm sure it's arguable by some that their diffusers still work fine, and I too have discovered that some tools still work okay under some circumstances; my Ziess Softar #1 seemed to offer decent results when photographing a single subject in the studio but I knew that the black netting diffuser that I used with my Lindahl Bell-o-shade no longer worked on the Nikon D70 zoom lens at the wider angles without showing lines in the image. Not a risk I was willing to take professionally so I just stopped using the Lindahl shade and drop-down filters for a while.

Then it happened. A savvy carriage trade-minded customer brought in a wall portrait that she had purchased several years ago by a photographer obviously using medium format lens tools like I was used to using in the past with my film camera. She wanted her new wall portraits to have that same "softened" look. So I arrived at the portrait session armed with my digital camera equipped with the very mild Softar Filter that works at any aperture on any lens thinking that this was good insurance at getting the kind of "softness" she could live with.

Understand that I knew any diffusion used on an entire family group portrait would be more exaggerated by their relative head sizes but I had explained that to her and she assured me she liked her portrait images "very soft".

While the images looked good on the small camera monitor, once I opened them up in Photoshop and printed them out as proofs I knew they were too soft. I called a colleague who is a digital expert and explained to him what I had done. He told me that you simply cannot use on-lens filters anymore for professional softening and diffusion without creating mush on 35mm type digital camera images. This leaves the special effects job now to the computer and not the camera. "But I've tried using Photoshop CS for their diffusion tools and what I get doesn't look like real photography," I complained, "The results are terrible." He agreed that Photoshop's filters weren't the right tools either to mimic the professional photography filters of the past but told me that there is a company that has a software program that is a plug-in for my Photoshop and has filter tools to recreate believable results for various levels of softening and diffusion.

The software is called "PhotoKit" and is available from Pixel Genius for only $49.95. I bought the Mac version and it is wonderful. I have played around with it now and have found that you can get varying degrees of whatever you want that looks similar to what you used to be able to do with your old lens filters and drop-down tools. Even more possibilities are now available to you. One of my favorites is the ability to lasso areas and "clear" the results of diffusion keeping eyes and teeth sparkly and sharp.

If there is a downside to doing your diffusion this way it's that the customer can't really see the results on the proof, so they have to "trust" your artistic license. But it was like this with retouching too so there will be a short new education curve for your clientele to learn, or to save yourself from disaster you might offer a second proof appointment to show the customer a proof of their selected images with the added softening or diffusion. It's going to take more time and you'll end up with having to rework some things more than you want so I'd only recommend this for customers like mine who's initial concern was the diffusion issue.

In summary, softening and diffusion can be done effectively and professionally but it's not as easy as it used to be when you'd just pick the filter you wanted and pop it over the lens. Your old on-camera lens filters will often turn your digital images to "mush" or images of weak contrast that may or may not be salvageable.

Tom Ray is a Certified Professional Photographer through the Professional Photographers of America. If you are interested in his full story please go to: http://www.rayphotography.com/HomeBiz2info.html - Professional Photography: Success Without School!

This Site Is For Sale

MORE ARTICLES:


An Ethical Alternative to the Conspicuous Excess of the Average Wedding
Many happy couples are turning their backs on the traditional wedding gift list in favor of a more ethical approach to their big day. If you are put off by the materialism and "me, me, me" aspect of modern weddings, then why not plan your day to reflect your personal philosophy and beliefs? It's not just gift lists that are being replaced.

Ten Ways to Have an Irish Wedding
Honor your Emerald Isle heritage with traditions that are romantic, clever, and a couple that are downright strange. Uncover here how to fill your wedding with all things Irish save the Blarney Stone.

10 Ideas for Perfect Wedding Gifts
Wedding ceremonies are the stuff fairy tales are made of. Marriages are made in heaven, it is said.

How To Choose Your Wedding Cake
One of my favorite parts about the wedding, is the cake. Over time many things have changed with weddings, but one thing that stays the same, there is always a beautiful cake.

Wedding Ideas From Emerging Stars
Celebrities have a tendency to leave all of the wedding planning details to other people, but we've all seen how their marriages usually end. Will a couple who worked together to create their wedding have a better chance of success?

Bachelor II Groom: Not Your Typical Wedding Magazine
Bachelor II Groom aims to help men with all their wedding needs. BIIG Magazine will be available in print and gracing newsstands summer 2007.

101 Las Vegas Wedding Invitation Verses
Las Vegas is the wedding capital of the world, yet no books tell us what wording to use on a Las Vegas wedding invitation, until now. An e-book titled ?101 Las Vegas Wedding Invitation Wording Ideas? has just been released.

Bad Credit Wedding Loans in Case You want to Race Towards the Altar with Bad Credit
So you are engaged. Congratulations.

How to Plan a Cheap Wedding
There's no doubt about it, weddings can be expensive. The average cost of a wedding today is $20,000 – $25,000, and weddings are estimated to be a $25.

How to Escape Wedding Day Stress
Modern weddings mean high costs and high stress, fuelled by advice from commercial web sites. The Wedding Wizards is a new independent 400+ page wedding planning site offering expert, yet free, advice to everyone involved.

Powered by WhyPark.com | Site Map | Home