Shutter Sisters

softening

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I remember when soft-focus portraiture was all the rage. Believe me, I shot my share of them. Glad that trend passed. Alas, the softness of photographic images can be magic. It’s just not usually done with a soft-focus lens anymore. Whew.

However it is achieved, softness can be timeless, dreamy, ethereal. It can be comforting, wistful, melancholic. Softness can evoke all kinds of emotion.

I have toyed with so many photographic styles and techniques over the years, some of which yield beautifully soft results. From shooting out of focus to dragging the shutter capturing a soft blur of motion to using lenses like aLensbaby to shooting through water (as I did in the featured shot) to the wonders of post-processing, softness can come any number of ways.

Today share your tips or tricks on how you soften up your subject. Show us your vision of soft.

Comments

  3. I went through a phase where I purposefully shot blurry photos. It's been a while since I've taken my camera out to shoot, but last night, I had the great desire to head to the Brooklyn Bridge (one of my favorite photo subjects) to shoot blurry photos at sundown. Here's one photo I shot, paired with another that is so true!

    http://aliandsethinthecity.blogspot.com/2011/05/stories.html

    I really wish I had a lensbaby though – that's my next dream purchase 😉

  9. I had a soft focus phase too. I like them just a bit underdeveloped so it would look like it was coming out of darkness and also, a minute dab of vaseline on the lens created beautiful pics but this was all back in the 70's for me. I havent done any creative photography since then but this blog is making me want to see what i can do