Soft Focus

One of the major benefits of current photography is the ability to produce images with exceptional realism, however it is not always the best way to proceed. There are instances when the best way to convey the emotions felt at the time of the photograph are by intentionally degrading the image quality. Just as Van Gogh did not paint with stark realism, so to, a photographer needs to decide whether the stark realism which is attainable with camera and lens is the appropriate way to interpret a scene.

Consider this scenario: A bride dressed in white standing in front of a window with sunlight streaming through looks at her bouquet with a serene and contemplative expression. Would the best way to capture this moment be to have a photograph with razor sharpness so that the bugs crawling on the flowers could easily be identified by genus and species and the sweat from the sun beaten bride could easily be seen hanging from her brow just ready to free itself and plummet onto the rose petal? Obviously such attention to detail would not be the most pleasing for this particular photograph. By intentional degrading the image quality and achieving a photograph with a soft focus effect the tender moment that is truly occurring can be preserved on film.

There are any number of ways to accomplish a soft focus effect. A filter can be purchased which when screwed on the front of a lens will soften the image. A piece of diffusion material can be placed in front of the lens. This material can be something that is made specifically for this purpose or it can be a piece of old dirty glass, a stretched nylon stocking,...even just breathing on the front element of the lens.

Assignment: Look around your home for materials that could be used to diffuse the clarity of the photograph and then take a series of photographs using different diffusion material and different lens openings. It is important to alter the lens opening because the intensity of diffusion will vary depending on the amount of depth of field chosen.