Soften Focus Filter
 52mm Soft Focus Effect Diffusion Filter Soften Diffuser US $9.98 
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Soft focus: assistance please?
Does anyone know of a good, free, photoshop plugin to achieve a natural looking soft focus effect? I've used soft focus filters before with great results, but now that I'm trying to do it in photoshop it seems like all the plugins I've tried soften the details waaaaay too much to get the same effect that the actual filters gave me.
For example, in the filters I'm used to a softening of highlights and a slight overall "dreamy" effect. With the plugins I seem to lose all facial details, the eyes become just black balls with no details, and I just don't like the look.
If anyone can help, please do.
You don't need a plug-in to create soft focus. You can get that "dreamy", soft effect by using the gaussian blur filter. Duplicate the layer, go to filters>blur>gaussian blur, make the radius about 30 pixels and hit OK, then change the blending mode of the layer to soft light. The image may then have an increase in contrast and saturation, which you can correct using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, and a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer to taste, then merge visible. Or you be more precise by duplicating the layer and using the surface blur filter instead, keep the radius around 5 pixels and adjust the levels to around 25-30. This provides a smoother softness and can give the appearance of a cleaner complexion (actually, a preferred method of softening portraits - but requires more tweaking). Change the blending mode to soft light (again, adjusting saturation and contrast to taste), then using the eraser tool, zoom in and brush out the effect on the eyes.
Creating the effect yourself requires a trial and error approach, and more work, but the finished product is often better than what you can get from a plug-in. I don't waste my time on the lazy man's effects plug-ins, those are gimmicks and relegates you to the title of short-cutter. If you want a plug-in that's 10 times more useful, get noise ninja. If you want to create great effects, learn how to use your photoshop.
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