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One of the classic methods of enhancing portrait and glamour images is by using soft focus techniques. For film shooters, the best method is to use the Classic Zeiss Softar filter in front of their lens, while Canon shooters have access to the lovely EF 135mm f/2.8 SF (soft focus) lens that lets you dial-in two levels—or no—of soft focus. But digital filter either know or quickly find out that the best way to add soft focus is int pst-porduction. Here are a few of my favorite soft methods.

One of the easiest ways to add soft focus to a glamour images is to use a dedicated Photoshop-compatible plug-in such as Nik Software’s Classical Soft Focus filter that’s part of the Select and Complete editions of the Color Efex Pro 3.0 package. It introduces traditional photographic effects to stylize an image and soften unwanted detail offereing multiple soft focus methods with sliders that let you modify the overall effect of the filter. This filter simulates traditional, soft focus filters and diffusion techniques and is the closest thing yet to a digital software. Tip: One of my favorite tricks (and you can use it on any of the tools that follow) is to apply the filter to a duplicate layer—Color Efex Pro will do that automatically—then use Photoshop's Eraser tool to earase the top layer around the subject's eye to keep them sharp. Also you can vary that soft focus layer's opacity using the Layers palette's Opacity slider to decrease the effect to suit your taste.

If you’re looking for more  software that can produce glamour photography effects take a look at Imagenomic’s (www.imagenomic.com) Portraiture that will remove skin imperfections while retaining important details. This Photoshop-compatible plug-in includes intelligent smoothing and blemish removal while preserving skin texture and delicate details such as the subject’s hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. You can use its many sliders to achieve the look you want and save them as custom presets as part of your portraiture workflow or do what I do and use the one-click presets found in a pop-up menu in the upper left-hand corner of the dialog box.

One of the classic ways to soften portraits or glamour photographs is by using Photoshop’s built-in Diffuse Glow filter (Filter > Distort > Diffuse Glow.) Diffuse Glow renders an image as though it were viewed through a traditional soft focus or diffusion filter. The filter adds see-through white noise with the glow fading from the center of a selection. At moderate slide settings of Graininess 5, Glow Amount 5, Clear Amount 15 (but this will vary depending on the subject,) the Diffuse Glow filter adds a layer of grain that spread the highlights and create a soft focus look. I like to back off the Grain, set the Clear amount to high numbers and experiment with the Glow slider to find an effect that suits the final effect that I’m trying to achieve. It’s your choice.

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Depending on the image and the style you are trying to achieve any one of these filters and plug-ins work well for skin smoothing but sometimes additional retouching is required and more often than not it’s the area’s under a subject’s eyes that needs extra attention. I prefer to start any retouching with the eyes before applying any of the previous filters or using the duplicate layer technique that follows. Photoshop’s Clone Stamp is my favorite tool for retouching under a subject’s eyes. Start by selecting a lighter area outside the eye to clone then use a soft-edged brush and set the tool’s Opacity level to 20% (or thereabouts) in the Option Bar so that any retouching does not overpower the skin tone and texture that’s already there. Less is more and don’t be afraid to use the History palette to undo what you’ve already done and go back and do it over again until it looks natural.

One of my favorite tricks to avoid an over-retouched look is a two-step approach: Step One is applying a skin smoothing/soft focus filter to a Duplicate Layer of the original photograph (Layer > Duplicate Layer.) I usually apply the filter at maximum strength because afterwards I’ll then select that layer in the Layer’s palette (by clicking on it) and lower the Opacity percentage until areas of the skin that I don’t want to see start to peek through from the background layer. Then I raise the layer’s Opacity just a percentage or two above that (what I consider) minimum level. But I’m not done yet.

Because the skin smoothing/soft focus filter is applied to everything in the duplicate layer, my second step in this process is to use the Eraser tool to remove part of the layer allowing portions of the sharper bottom layer to show through. This is important for those parts of the final image that I want to remain crisp, such as the eyes, lips, and sometimes the hairline. Before or after erasing I sometimes use the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush to retouch tiny details on the duplicate layer that already has the skin smoothing/soft focus filter applied to it. Tip: Once you start retouching, especially at higher magnifications, you see little details that you want to improve but sooner or later you have to quit. I have a 20-minute rule; If the finished photograph isn’t the way I want it to look after 20 minutes, it’s never going to satisfy me so I start again with another image.

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