What do you do for a blur effect?

[psreilly]

I've never tried it before, and was curious to what methods people on this forum use. I'm talking about the blur that can be caused by vaseline, plastic bags or other methods

I'm planning on doing something like that soon, but would hate to waste a filter just to throw vaseline on it. Any recommendations or better methods than the two listed above?

 

[JacaRanda]

What software do you have?

 

[snowbear]

I like to use Vaseline and plastic bags. Use a UV filter - they are pretty much worthless on digital. You can also use a small piece of window glass - 4" x 5" or so; just tape up the edges so you don't cut yourself.

 

[JustJazzie]

I've been seeing lots of shots done with tulle over the lens lately! It's quite an interesting effect

 

[SCraig]

Nothing. I spent a lot of money to get relatively sharp lenses and see no reason to defeat that.

That said, if for some odd reason I did want a soft-focus effect I'd do it with software. I can't "Undo" a bad shot if it's all I've got. I can "Undo" something I changed with software.

 

[Derrel]

I have a pretty good stash of filters for creating soft, diffuse looks, both Cokin, some Softars, and some homemade "hairspray" filters. There are a number of different looks. White tulle fabric makes a good diffusion material; pantyhose material will also work. BLACK-colored tulle, or other black netting makes a really nice diffusion look. Tiffen's Black Net filter is pretty good. Cokin has soft-focus, fog, and diffusion filters, and those work pretty nice on longer lenses, like 70-200 or 70-300 zooms.

Hairspray, sprayed into the air and allowed to fall down onto a UV filter can make a nice diffuser, and it's not messy like Vaseline can be. I have several of those. They work pretty well. THe effects of front-mounted filters depend on focal length, and also how close to the front of the lens they are, and also the f/stop. Black paint also works great" the KEY is to do this spraying from a spray can at above 76 degrees, so the paint will FULLY aerosolize, and it will then drop to the filter about 18"-2 feet below, and form nice micro-droplets as it drops; I also do this for my custom lure painting hobby. You need the air temp, and the paint to be 76 degrees or above.

In photoshop I often create a duplicate layer, I Gaussian blur that anywhere from 45 to 75 pixels (yes, 45 to 75!), then use the Multiply blending mode most of the time, then use the Curves tool to decrease the blur, and to control how blurring things are. Using Screen as the blending mode keeps things bright, light, and high-key. If you use the Multiply mode, it creates a weird, dark look, kind of like diffusion under the enlarging lens, which usually looks odd, but which can work at times.

 

[psreilly]

I've been seeing lots of shots done with tulle over the lens lately! It's quite an interesting effect

That is interesting I don't think i've seen anyone ever use that before. I'm going for a very david bellemere look. I've heard people saying he uses plexiglass or scratched plexiglass? I don't know judge for yourself

David Bellemere on Instagram: “Stella @stellamaxwell @marieclaireitalia @elisabettamassari @benoitmoeyaert @tatsuparis #davidbellemere #teambellemere @juanditobandito ⚡️”

 

[psreilly]

I have a pretty good stash of filters for creating soft, diffuse looks, both Cokin, some Softars, and some homemade "hairspray" filters. There are a number of different looks. White tulle fabric makes a good diffusion material; pantyhose material will also work. BLACK-colored tulle, or other black netting makes a really nice diffusion look. Tiffen's Black Net filter is pretty good. Cokin has soft-focus, fog, and diffusion filters, and those work pretty nice on longer lenses, like 70-200 or 70-300 zooms.

Hairspray, sprayed into the air and allowed to fall down onto a UV filter can make a nice diffuser, and it's not messy like Vaseline can be. I have several of those. They work pretty well. THe effects of front-mounted filters depend on focal length, and also how close to the front of the lens they are, and also the f/stop. Black paint also works great" the KEY is to do this spraying from a spray can at above 76 degrees, so the paint will FULLY aerosolize, and it will then drop to the filter about 18"-2 feet below, and form nice micro-droplets as it drops; I also do this for my custom lure painting hobby. You need the air temp, and the paint to be 76 degrees or above.

In photoshop I often create a duplicate layer, I Gaussian blur that anywhere from 45 to 75 pixels (yes, 45 to 75!), then use the Multiply blending mode most of the time, then use the Curves tool to decrease the blur, and to control how blurring things are. Using Screen as the blending mode keeps things bright, light, and high-key. If you use the Multiply mode, it creates a weird, dark look, kind of like diffusion under the enlarging lens, which usually looks odd, but which can work at times.

Hairspray sounds interesting. I'm sure it wouldn't be nearly as damaging either as Vaseline

I'd like to try to get this pre-shot instead of in photoshop. I treat everything like I do lighting, the more done prior to the shot the better off it will be. All else fails then the gaussian blur effect will be a bigger friend than before

 

[snowbear]

Expanding on Jazzie's and Derrel's mention of tulle, another low-cost filter is pantyhose. Black gives a fairly neutral color cast compared to the beige colors. Stretch it inside a small embroidery hoop and place in front of the lens. You'll probably want to focus first, otherwise the AF will just hunt.

 

[TCampbell]

You can smear Vaseline around the edges of a UV filter. Leave the center clear.

You can also buy something called a "spot diffusion" filter.