Photography Tips - Soft Focus

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Here is a handy little tool that can enhance the ambiance of your picture, but it must be done correctly or it can destroy your photo.  Knowing how and when to use this particular filter is important for any photographer.

Uses

• Softens age lines
• Adds an intimate effect to portraits or pictures
• Can be used to add effects to a photo

What Does It Do

We know the uses, but what does it do?  A soft focus filter takes the edges of a properly focused subject and softens the photo, including edges which can reduce the harsh age lines, skin blemishes etc.  To sum it up, it slightly blurs the picture.  When a soft focus picture is done correctly, it will look soft and intimate, when the picture was poorly executed it will look completely out of place and/or blurry.

Good Scenarios To Use Soft Focus

• Weddings (Formals)
• Engagement Photos
• Maternity Photos
• Some portraits
• Seasoned individuals
• Kids/adults with bad skin imperfections (Does not mask acne)

When you decide to do a soft focus filter, I suggest taking 2 pictures; one with and one without the filter so the client will be happy either way.  Some people don’t like the soft effect and if there are no other options you can lose a sale over it.  Some people on the other hand won’t take a photo without the filter.  Also, make sure that the filter will fit the situation.  If you use the photo for something like automobile photography, or something more intense it will look out of place and unprofessional.  As a professional photographer, know when to use it and don’t let the client dictate it for you.  If there is no compromise, do what I said and take 2 pictures 1 with and 1 without.

In my experience, I found the best way to use the soft focus filter is to

1. Place your camera firm on a tripod
2. Get your angles and settings correct
3. Focus your subject
4. Add the filter right before shooting the subject (to ensure the photo is properly focused)
5. Take the photo.

If you don’t focus the subject correctly the picture will be very blurry and unattractive.  Once the filter is on the camera, it’s very hard to focus correctly manually or automatically because it does slightly distort the photo.  By focusing the subject first, you eliminate the hassle of looking through a semi-blurry piece of glass to focus properly.  I suggest a tripod for these shots because any slight movement will only make the effect greater, its gonna be soft, you don’t want it worse with movement.

The Reasoning Behind Mourning Photos

I was in St. Augustine a few weeks ago, shopping antique stores for old photographs.  As a photographer I love the beauty in vintage photos.  While scrummaging through the piles, I came across a unique photo, something you just don’t find a lot of.  It was a mourning photo, and it had an inscription written on the back that read “Floral tribute to Frank Prine, who died Tuesday, April 26, 1898 at the early age of 6 yrs. 4 mos.”

I immediately purchased this picture, despite its morbid content.  I purchased it because of how rare they are first of all, and second because it meant a lot to some family back then.  Even though mourning photography is morbid to us now, the reasoning is quite mis-understood, but I find it beautiful in its own right.

Back in the early 1800’s when photos first came around with Ambrose Type and Tin Type photographs, this specialty cost people a fortune to have done.  In those days, it was not uncommon for a person to pay up to $25.00.  With inflation, that could run you around $2500.00 today.  Life expectancy was not great back then, if we lived to 50 we were considered old men and women.

If you notice, when you look at photos back then there were not many of kids.  In fact most of the photographs you see were of adults.  This was because it required standing very still. They used posers to keep you still since they did not use flash. It was a timed exposure, so should you move at all, the photo would be blurry and ruin the picture.  Also, children simply did not grasp how expensive the process was, so it would be a waste of money to attempt to have one made of them till they got older and understood the importance of sitting still.  Most of the time when you see a child’s photo from the early 1800’s to early 1920’s they tend to be sleeping.  I hate to break it to you, but those children are “forever” sleeping because they are deceased.

The parents always expected to one day get a photo of them when they were older. Sometimes that did not happen, because they died at a young age. The parents would decide to take a photo of them anyway, and either take a photo of the child looking like they were asleep, or would take a photo of them in their coffins.  Parents would rush to get a photo taken, because this would be the child’s only photo, despite the fact they were dead; it was better than nothing at all.

Parents would not only take photos because it would be the child’s only picture, they also did it to help them mourn the loss of their beloved child.  Sometimes they took photos of deceased adults too, who more than likely had photos of them while alive. This was a common way to help mourn the loss of a loved one.

I know about this because it happened to my great aunt Emma.  In 1920, she broke her arm and died from blood poisoning.  Our family had two known photos of her, a small 2×4 that contained her, my aunt Adela and my uncle Wally.  The other was one of her by herself when she was maybe 7 or 8, and the last one was her in her coffin.  My aunt Adela, told me that it helped her parents mourn the loss, and since she was only 10, they didn’t have many photos of her, so the coffin photo was at least one more picture of their sweet Emma.

Today, we take for granted that our loved ones live long lives, that children or infant deaths are not as common today as they were back then, and that most of us have cameras so we take loads of photos of our children and family members.  We forget that this was not the case back in the early days in America and that it was quite expensive.  So before you decide this is all just morbid, think through why they did it and how they didn’t have the conveniences we have today; the luxury of our own personal cameras and how inexpensive they are, and you will see that mourning photography really isn’t as morbid as it first appears.

Jason Dowd - All Eyes on Me

Looking for a different kind of photo experience? Dread gathering the kids up in the car and dragging them to a photo studio? Dowd Studios, Inc. is the answer to your woes. The owner, Jason Dowd, worked in a studio for years and heard all the wishes of the customers that patronized the business. With these wishes in mind, he designed a professional studio that can be set up in the comfort and convenience of your own home or office. Dowd Studios was established in August of 2003.

About Dowd Studios

Dowd Studios is a small company owned by Jason and his wife Fran. They are a home-based business whose mission is simply “to take a great photos and be affordable for all budgets.” Their studio not only offers portraits, but also photograph business and church events, school, modeling and maternity photos, passports, custom design graphics, and website design. If you want it photographed, they will do it… within the law of course. The studio has a website that allows you to get all the information you need about their services. You can order and proof your prints online and purchase stock photography from their online store.  To contact the studio simply go to www.dowdstudios.com

Recognition and Shows

Throughout the years Dowd Studios has had many accolades. He was the AmSouth Business of the Month for February 2005 and his work “Eyes of a Child” and “Candle Light” was published in a coffee table book called Endless Journeys. His work was featured in the local community newspaper The Laker and county wide papers The Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times. Jason’s picture “Jack Murphy Stadium” won first place in ArtFest 97.

Jason’s work is available for purchase and viewing at Fincher’s Barbecue Restaurant in Macon, GA on Houston Rd. The restaurant has twelve of his photos from his Georgia Collection. His photos are also available for purchase at Fast Frame in Tampa on Bruce B. Downs. Two of his pieces are on display at Beck Gallery in Lutz, FL. Jason is always looking for places to show his work and encourages anyone that knows or has a connection to please contact the studio.

Dowd Studios and the Community

Jason is dedicated to a business that benefits not only benefits his family, but his community as well.  He is proud to volunteer his services with the American Cancer Society. Dowd Studios has helped the ACS each year since 2005. They have donated time and materials with a photo booth at the Cattle Barrons Ball in Dade City where all sales go directly to the ACS. This year Jason and his wife did an overnight walk for the cure.  Dowd Studios makes regular contributions to the American Diabetes Foundation, and Jason and his wife volunteer with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Florida.

Prominent Clients

Dowd Studios has worked with some large names in the community. To date, the studio has worked with 16 Second Stare, HOK Architects, Johanson and Associates, The Academy of The Holy Name, Belks Department Store, and former Tampa Bay Lightning’s Dave Shaw. Most recently, he did a photo journalism piece for the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint of Senator Obama’s Florida campaign stop in Tampa.

Dowd Studios is here to stay… and when you have your portrait taken, look into the camera, and you will see why Jason says, “It’s all eyes on me.”

Dowd Studios- Mother’s Day Contest 08 Winner

Dowd Studios, Inc. in 2008 decided to hold a Mother’s Day contest for the cutest kid.  The applicants were to go online to Dowd Studio’s web site and enroll.  Enrollment was free and the winner would come away with some great prizes!  This was the first ever Mother’s Day Contest by Dowd Studios, Jason, the owner, said “It was a great success and we will definitely be holding another one next year.”

But this contest wasn’t just about the cutest kid, or the mom… no, according to Jason, it was about a little bit more. ” Mom’s are special, and so is every child.  Every child has the potential of being our next President, or the scientist who will cure A.I.D.S.  The source of that success is the mom who selflessly gave birth to that special little child, and gave all she had to ensure her child grew up full of love, healthy and educated.  It’s a special bond and all mother’s should get special recognition.  This contest was to give both, great recognition!”

The contest was judged by two ladies who had no affiliation with Dowd Studios, they were asked if they knew any of the children in the application.  None of them had any ties to either the studio or the children so there was no bias or favoritism.  ” I told my judges, that they can’t favor anyone if they used my photos, if they are older than anyone else, like a baby favors a 2 year old, and they could not judge on their story alone.  The judges could not discriminate between: race, sex or religion.  It was totally fair for anyone that entered, and that’s how I wanted it.”

In the first annual contest, Ashley Hamrick and her son Jimmy are the grand prize winners.  Their story was touching, the child adorable!  It was a great choice.  Jason talked to the judges after the judging ended and asked them if they all were in agreement with their choice, they said yes… “But it was a VERY tough decision, all the kids were adorable, all the stories touching.  They were all winners in our book.”  With that comment, Jason realized how true that statement was, and made sure all participants received a free sitting and 8×10 of their choice from Dowd Studios without any obligation for purchasing.

The grand prize was a:  Free sitting and 16×24 portrait from Dowd Studios, and a $25.00 Chili’s Gift Certificate donated by Dowd Studios.  A $25.00 gift certificate for custom framing from Alexandria Art Gallery, a Bath Gift Basket from Passion NV, and a free hair cut and wash from J. Joseph Salon in Land O Lakes.

“Next year we expect more participants, more prizes and an even harder choice.”  says Jason.  So if you are interested, keep checking the studio’s web page at www.dowdstudios.com.  To see the winner you can check the “Picture Of the Month” or see the Mother’s Day Contest Winner on the Gallery Link of the Dowd Studios web site.