Soft Focus

1
Soft Focus

• Adding softening that creates exciting photos.

2
Step One

• Open the image and duplicate the background layer
  by dragging it to the Create a new layer icon
  in the Layers palette.
• Now blur this duplicate layer, using FiltergtBlurgt
  Gaussian Blur
• Use a Blur Radius of anywhere between 30 and 50
  pixels.

3
Step One Continued

• The higher the setting, the more pronounced the
  effect will be in the final image.

4
Step Two

• In the Layers palette, reduce the opacity of this
  layer to allow some of the details from the
  underlying background layer to show through the
  blur.
• The lower we set the opacity for this layer, the
  more subtle the soft focus effect will be. As a
  rule, use an opacity somewhere between 50-70.

5
Step Three

• Choose the eraser tool and select a soft brush
  from the brush picker.
• Reduce the eraser opacity to 20 in the Options
  Bar.
• Gently erase the blur over features that you
  would like to see more clearly.

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Step Four

• We need to add an extra glow to the highlights,
  so choose the eyedropper tool and click the
  lightest part of the picture to sample the color.
• Go to SelectgtColor Range and use a Fuzziness
  slider setting of 70.
• This will determine the range of colors selected.
• Choose Black matte from the Selection Preview box
  so you can see which parts will be selected.

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Step Five

• With the selection active, add a new empty layer
• Fill the selected areas with white using
  EditgtFillgtUse White.
• Blur this highlight layer using Gaussian Blur,
  with a high radius value of 100.
• Set the blending mode for this layer to Screen to
  reduce the opacity.
• Save as a jpg and quit.

8
Example
9
Example