Technique for Diffusion Filter in PS?

[kdthomas]

I was tinkering with this last night ... is this a common technique? Bad idea? Good idea?

First take the SOOC image:


Then duplicate the background layer, and on the new layer, do Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur, and for the radius, multiple the length of the long edge in pixels by 0.0082. So for my camera that's 7360*0.0082=60. BTW, 0.0082 is simply a number I used because this time it made 60 pixels a number I found to work for this image. I would imagine it scales for the level of resolution. YMMV. This is just me goofing around. So the blur value was 60.



Now, set the opacity of this layer to about 40%. And I got the soft haloey (new word!) look going, but also could see sharpness in the details (beard & hair on upper forehead).



is this the most brilliant idea ever? Or should I crawl away ashamed that I even mentioned a word of this?

 

[Braineack]

you could just smear vasoline on the lens!

I guess I don't really see the point.

 

[kdthomas]

you could just smear vasoline on the lens!

I guess I don't really see the point.

Well I remember my mom going to Glamour Shots, and they had this kind of effect, and I remember waaaaaaayyyyy back in the Army (1986!) when I used to run around with a Minolta X700(yes ... you read that right ... I loved that thing, shot the hell out of it), I had a diffusion filter, and it yielded an effect something like this.

 

[Derrel]

Yeah...it's a method...I've used a similar method for years. I do it a bit different. I create a duplicate layer, do a heavy Gaussian blur, use "Screen" to apply it, then use curves to lighten the effect...it can be allowed to be very halo-y,and quite diffused, quite soft, or almost invisible, depending. It can work pretty well on some subjects, especially high-key or feminine or pastoral subject matter. These days, with the clarity slider, a lot of people are using negative clarity, which isn't quite as subtle as this method.

 

[kdthomas]

Yeah...it's a method...I've used a similar method for years. I do it a bit different. I create a duplicate layer, do a heavy Gaussian blur, use "Screen" to apply it, then use curves to lighten the effect...it can be allowed to be very halo-y,and quite diffused, quite soft, or almost invisible, depending. It can work pretty well on some subjects, especially high-key or feminine or pastoral subject matter. These days, with the clarity slider, a lot of people are using negative clarity, which isn't quite as subtle as this method.

Ok, so do you tie the curves layer directly to the "Blur" layer, so that it only affects that layer? Do you know offhand where the technique is documented or demonstrated?

 

[Derrel]

Yes, it is only affecting the blur layer. I'm not sure where this is documented.

Layer>Duplicate Layer>Background copy

FILTER>Blur>Gaussian Blur, radius 75 pixels.

 

[kdthomas]

Cool. Thank you sir!

 

[Derrel]

WINDOWS>LAYERS>Screen

IMAGE>Adjust>Curves: Pulling the curves downward applies less of the diffusion: the toe or bottom of the curve, can be pulled allll the way down, until it disappears in the center of the histogram, which causes a very minimal degree of diffusion. The line of the curves adjustment can be pulled very far to the right if desired, which creates a tiny, almost invisible effect.

IMAGE>Adjust>Curves: If the curve is "lifted" the image lightens up. Multiple points on the curve can be selected. THIS particular image is not the best source for this effect, due to the deep, saturated gelled color background; as you can see, the diffusion effect looks a bit out of place on a dark, saturated background, as seen in the lower left corner of this shot; again, this effect needs the right "source material" to look logical...as in something light, pastoral, feminine, delicate. Diffusion overlayed on DARK colors can look odd, IMHO.