Operation method of soft lens

In many cases, the clearer the picture, the better. For example, when taking portraits, many women hope that the effect of the photos is hazy to cover up the tiny wrinkles or spots on their faces; When shooting scenery or still life, we sometimes consider adding some romantic and soft artistic conception to the scenery, or making the image confusing and dreamlike. This process of softening the image is called soft light photography.

There are many kinds of soft light photography, which can be carried out during shooting or in post-production. Here are some special soft light effect equipment and some simple, economical and practical soft light shooting methods. Interested friends may wish to try it according to the methods we provide, and you will feel fun in the creative process of soft light photography.

In the process of showing soft light effect, soft light mirror is the most traditional and common special photographic accessory. Soft lens, also known as soft lens, is often used in portraits, landscapes, advertisements and still life photography. The precession soft lens is generally made of optical glass, which is made by special treatment such as photographic etching; Sandwich soft lenses are mostly made of organic optical glass and injection molded. The principle of soft lens is very simple, mainly making micro-pits on the surface or interlayer of transparent lens to diffuse the light entering the lens, thus producing soft light effect. The ratio of diffuse area to transparent area on the lens determines the soft light effect of the soft light mirror. General soft lenses are colorless and transparent, but there are also special soft lenses with colors. At present, the most common soft lens brands on the market are Japan's Baogu, Kengo, Marumei and so on. Of course, many domestic soft lens brands can also be seen in the market. Because the quality requirements of soft mirrors for optical glass are not particularly high, some domestic soft mirrors with outstanding cost performance can still be trusted. When choosing a soft lens, be sure to pay attention to the serial number of the filter. Generally, the larger the serial number, the more obvious the soft light effect. For example, the soft light effect of No.2 is more obvious than that of 1.

Normal shooting effect using clip-on or screw-in soft lens shooting effect using soft lens

soft focus

Soft focus lens, also known as soft light lens, can directly shoot pictures with soft light effect without using soft light lens. It is mainly used to shoot portraits and landscape photos with fantastic effects. The soft light principle of soft-focus lens is to install a porous metal plate perpendicular to the main axis in the lens optical path, and the imaging light diffuses when passing through these holes, so that the image on the film presents a soft light effect. The soft light effect can be controlled by the aperture size. When the aperture is adjusted to the minimum, it can be used as an ordinary photographic lens. In addition, there is an adjustable soft focus lens. Through the adjustment of four gears, the lens gradually produces more and more artificial spherical aberration to achieve soft light effect. Some famous camera and lens manufacturers, such as Minolta in Japan, Fuji and Rodenstein in Germany, have designed and produced soft focal length lenses. However, due to the limitations and low output of the soft-focus lens, the product price is relatively expensive, so it is difficult to see the soft-focus lens in the market now.

Digital soft light mode

At present, the production technology of digital cameras has become more and more mature, and the built-in image processing system of cameras has become more and more powerful. Giving digital cameras more functions is another competitive point besides pixels. So we have seen many interesting scene shooting modes on some digital cameras, and some models also have soft light mode.

Soft light mode (also called soft focus mode) of digital camera is a shooting mode that simulates soft light effect. It uses the special algorithm of the built-in software of digital camera to defocus the image, accompanied by slight overexposure, which makes the image produce a hazy effect similar to a soft mirror. From the actual shooting effect, this kind of soft lens of analog digital camera can produce ideal effect, which saves the process of people taking soft photos by relying on accessories. At present, there are not many digital cameras with filter effect, but with the great richness of digital cameras, I believe that people may rely less and less on accessories for photography creation.

What if I want to take a photo with soft light effect, but I don't have a soft lens or a digital camera with soft light function? Don't worry, here are some simple soft light shooting methods. You can easily take photos with soft light effect by using the existing materials around you.

The soft light mode interface (soft focus) of Casio EX-P600 digital camera was shot by Casio EX-P600 digital camera (normal mode). Casio EX-P600 digital camera is used for soft light shooting. Vaseline is one of the commonly used oils for skin care. When you need to make works with soft light effect, just use your fingers or cotton swabs to coat vaseline on the UV mirror or sky mirror. Because oil has certain transparency, it can diffuse light. This soft light effect mainly depends on the amount and distribution of oil. The more grease, the greater the density and the stronger the soft light effect. On the contrary, it is weaker. The use of vaseline is also one of the commonly used soft light means in advertising photography.

Using grease soft light lamp has its unique advantages. For example, you can apply grease to a certain area of the lens to soften or blur the local objects in the shooting area. In addition, if you need special effects, you can also use color filters or mix color pigments in oil to achieve special purposes. In addition, photographers can also find other special effects through shooting, such as speeding mirror effect, or painting grease into spiral and radial shapes, etc.

The lens used after shooting should be cleaned with warm water and cotton cloth, dried and wiped with a clean soft cloth.

When applying vaseline to UV mirror or sky mirror, you can apply it to the position where you want the effect to appear, and the thickness of the oil should be properly controlled according to your needs. Normal shooting effect, messy background. The effect of applying vaseline to UV mirror to make hollow soft lens. The messy background is blurred. Among all kinds of soft light effects, the most convenient one is "tulle soft light method". As the name implies, this simple method is to put gauze (scarf or stockings) in front of the camera and fix it with a rubber band to shoot. Soft light effect is controlled by the density and compactness of gauze. Generally, gauze with large mesh should be selected to increase light transmittance. In addition, the color of gauze will also affect the color effect of the main body. For example, taking portraits with gauze close to skin color has a uniform, soft, moist and elegant effect.

Cover the lens with gauze and pay attention to the transparency of gauze. Normal shooting effect the effect of using gauze soft light method to shoot. Stick transparent tape on the front of the camera (where you want the effect to appear, or stick colored cellophane as needed), and you can also make rich soft light works with transparent tape. Before shooting, just cut some rubber strip into several pieces and stick them on the frame or hood.

When pasting, it is generally not necessary to paste all of them, just paste them where you want the effect to appear. Where the soft light effect is strong, you can overlap and paste, or mix colored cellophane according to special needs to emphasize a certain color. It should be noted that when sticking the adhesive tape, it is necessary to avoid sticking the adhesive tape to the lens of the lens to avoid damaging the coating of the lens when removing it. In addition, when we go out to create, we can also rely on plastic bags to create the effect of hollow soft mirrors. In short, be good at thinking and try more, and your photos will be different. Stick transparent tape on the front of the hood. Normal shooting effect The effect of shooting with transparent tape. When photographers go sightseeing, they often don't have soft lenses and other items that can be used to make soft light accessories. What should I do if I need to create a soft light effect at this time? "Multiple exposure method" is one of the methods to solve the problem. Firstly, the camera is fixed on the tripod, and the main body of the focused picture is exposed for the first time after the framing is determined; Secondly, focus on the background or companion for the second exposure; Finally, the third exposure blurs the focus of all subjects. Such a soft light work with three exposures is completed. It should be noted that when shooting, try to use a larger aperture to obtain a shorter depth of field; In addition, the subject should be relatively static, otherwise the motion and position change of the subject will cause shooting failure. Because slight overexposure will make the soft light effect stronger, in the case of multiple exposures, exposure compensation is not needed. Because most digital cameras don't have multiple exposure function, film cameras often use multiple exposure soft light method.