Soft Focus

Picture Perfect Photography: Soft focus

by Candice Stringham

Appeared In: August 2007

How do you get a soft, dreamy look to your images without spending a lot of money for a selective focus lens or spending a lot of time in Photoshop? Try these easy tips for a fabulous look.

There are several ways to control the focus in an image. Yes, you can buy lenses to help you or you can use photoshop to blur out the background, but you can also do a lot just by buying a cheap UV filter for your camera. You probably already have one. They are especially important in protecting your lens from scratches and dust. But they are also so much more.

Check out this still life image straight out of the camera with no filter. It’s not a bad image but it could be so much more.

Notice the difference in this second image. See the soft glow? The strong blur of the background and the smoother tonality? This was done with two inexpensive items--a cheap UV filter and KY jelly.

It may sound funny, but all you have to do is place the KY jelly on the areas of the filter that you want blurred. Only use it on the outside of the filter--you don’t want to get it on your lens. In the days before digital, this was a trick that professional photographers often used, only back then it was vaseline.

KY jelly is actually much more user-friendly because, unlike vaseline which was difficult to clean off the filter, KY jelly is water soluble so it rinses right off. This is a fun technique because you can place the jelly wherever you want to!

This final image is similar to the previous one in that it has areas that are also soft and out of focus--but there is a hint of graininess in this photograph. This was added by putting a clean filter over the lens and breathing on it to create a fog. The center will clear first so look through your view finder and take the picture when it looks like you want it to.