Good old vaseline

[steve73mccabe]

First time I've tried rubbing the Vaseline on a CD case and holding it in front of the lens. Looks ok I think

 

[Trever1t]

I think it's interesting. Perhaps another try is in order!

 

[steve73mccabe]

This was just a test pic to try the process, was just on the way back from a shopping trip with the family so didn't want to take to long over it

 

[Geaux]

VERY interesting, never heard of this before

 

[Mike Lamb]

Cool. It gives me ideas.

 

[AKUK]

It's amazing to think portrait photographers used to spread it on their lenses back in the old days to get that soft look for their beauty shots. Cool adaptation here with it though. Some real creative possibilities.

 

[ronlane]

I've heard of a few pros that use a UV filter and this technique. I'm sure that the UV filter would be a little better optically than a CD case would be.

 

[snowbear120 51]

I've heard of a few pros that use a UV filter and this technique. I'm sure that the UV filter would be a little better optically than a CD case would be.

Finally - a good use for a UV filter on a DSLR.

 

[tirediron]

It's amazing to think portrait photographers used to spread it on their lenses back in the old days to get that soft look for their beauty shots. Cool adaptation here with it though. Some real creative possibilities.

Those days aren't so old!

 

[AKUK]

Get with the times, Grandpa

 

[snowbear120 51]

It's amazing to think portrait photographers used to spread it on their lenses back in the old days to get that soft look for their beauty shots. Cool adaptation here with it though. Some real creative possibilities.

Used a small piece of plate glass and held it up in front of the lens.

 

[Forkie]

That's kind of cool.

Question:

Does the blur change depending on which direction you smear the vaseline?

 

[steve73mccabe]

That's kind of cool.

Question:

Does the blur change depending on which direction you smear the vaseline?

It's a bit weird, if you hold the smears horizontally, the image comes out vertically so I assume that changing the direction will have all sorts of weird effects

 

[tirediron]

That's kind of cool.

Question:

Does the blur change depending on which direction you smear the vaseline?

It's a bit weird, if you hold the smears horizontally, the image comes out vertically so I assume that changing the direction will have all sorts of weird effects

You can get very creative with this; how you "smear" it on will have a direct effect on how the image is captured. If you want the most even, homogenous blur, then the best thing to do is place a circle of tape the size of your "clear" area and then warm the Vaseline using hot water and drip it onto the glass so it forms a thin, even coat.

 

[photoguy99]

Yeah!

Get with the times!

Modern technique is to use an absurdly high resolution sensor in an absurdly small format (d810) mandating an absurdly large aperture to create shallow DoF (85/1.8) with only the victim in focus and rendered in horrifying detail.

The you spend hours in Photoshop removing all that detail (skin work) and finally upload to the web at 72dpi!