Soft Image

str1nger

str1nger

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Mike
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What is the definition of a soft image? Surely a soft image is an out of focus image?

Please can someone post two identical pictures one sharp and one soft so i can see

Cheers
 
Not really, an out of focus (oof) shot is exactly that, nothing is in focus, a soft shot is one where the lens is perfectly focused on the subject matter but the resolving power of the lens is quite low so very useful for photography ladies of a certain age :) Whereas a sharp lens and harsh lighting could be used on a man to show his 'character'. The sharp lens could also be used on a lady but most would not be impressed if every slight imperfection could be seen.
Old fashioned film lenses were often soft if deemed to be a portrait lens, Canon still have a 135mm soft focus lens in their lineup.

Matt
 
I always took soft to mean any kind of slight blurring, fuzziness or indistinctness, be that through diffraction, camera shake, inaccurate focus, motion blur, high iso...
 
There's many types of "soft". Soft lighting can create a soft looking image.

Why do you need two images to show soft and sharp when one will do.

Barnehage_085_small.jpg
 
Just a quick question to add to the thread..

Can soft focus be applied through photoshop or the likes??

Save buying soft focus lenses?
 
levihaynes said:
Just a quick question to add to the thread..

Can soft focus be applied through photoshop or the likes??

Save buying soft focus lenses?
Click to expand...

Sure - just make a duplicate layer - label it OOF then apply a gaussian blur of about 20 or so - then just set the opacity which gives the best effect and Bingo - a "soft focus" pic.

This is also called the Orton effect.

Here's an example with a very small amount of Soft Focus applied :

 
A soft picture is what I get from my 450D nearly every time I use autofocus ;)

I think it's often the result of very slight back or front focus. Basically, it's a picture that is perfectly visible but isn't quite as sharp as it could be.
 
trencheel303 said:
A soft picture is what I get from my 450D nearly every time I use autofocus ;)

I think it's often the result of very slight back or front focus. Basically, it's a picture that is perfectly visible but isn't quite as sharp as it could be.
Click to expand...

That's not a "soft" image. That is an out of focus image which is very different!
 
trencheel303 said:
A soft picture is what I get from my 450D nearly every time I use autofocus ;)

I think it's often the result of very slight back or front focus. Basically, it's a picture that is perfectly visible but isn't quite as sharp as it could be.
Click to expand...

No, that is out of focus, a true soft focus shot is perfectly in focus.
An old trick is to smear vaseline onto an old filter, or stretch a sheer black stocking (single thicknessO across a lens and use a wide aperture.

Matt
 
The expression 'soft' is often erroneously applied to images where the focus isn't as sharp as it could have been (and I'm as guilty as anyone in this regard), but the true definition is as above.
 
Arkady said:
The expression 'soft' is often erroneously applied to images where the focus isn't as sharp as it could have been (and I'm as guilty as anyone in this regard), but the true definition is as above.
Click to expand...

I think we all use the word in that way to be fair :)
 
Thanks fellas Ive learned something there.
 
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