BrianO
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 p.1 #3 · lens too sharp ! help for PP | |
Soft lighting can help, by minimizing the tiny shadows and highlights in and around pores and blemishes, while still allowing sharp lenses to record hair and other details sharply.
If that's not enough, then selective softening in Photoshop or use of an automated program like Portrait Professional might be needed to get the results you want.
Here's how I do it in Photoshop Elements 6:
Create a Levels adjustment layer (for masking)
Create a Duplicate layer of the original photo
Apply the High Pass filter to the duplicate, with a radius of 3
Apply the Gaussian Blur filter to the duplicate with a radius of 1
Invert the layer, and set the Blending Mode to Linear Light
Using the Paint Bucket, fill the layer mask with black -- this obscures the duplicate layer
Using the paint brush, paint with white to reveal the softened duplicate only in the areas needed, like forehead, cheeks, neck, etc., but not the eyes, lips, etc.
Adjust the opacity of the mask (or duplicate layer) to get the degree of softnening you want.
It sounds complicated, but once you've done it a few times it goes quickly. If you're using software with a better masking capability than Elements 6, it's even easier.
Shown below are "Before" and "After" views of a portrait I did recently, and a screen shot of the workflow.
Edited on Nov 04, 2009 at 12:27 PM · View previous versions
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