Diffusion Effect in Photoshop

[gateway]

<p>How to create a diffusion effect in Photoshop? Specifically, lines or wrinkles around the eyes or an effect to soften aging skin in a portrait. These will be point & shoot digital images, or scanned from 135, 120 film, and not enlarged beyond 8x10, and using Photoshop 7. This is a topic-that I have not been able to locate in forums, or google as related to wrinkles on 'mature' people.</p>

<p>Thanks for any suggestions,</p>

<p>John</p>

[kim_johnson1]

<p>In Photoshop, try Filter > Blur > Surface blur. You can adjust the settings. Be careful, because you can easily overpower. I have CS3, not sure if it's included in 7. Also, I found a program that I use to reduce noise in images, to almost be perfect in smoothing the skin. Its called Neat Image. Google it. There's a free trial, and if you like it, I think its $20something to download.</p>

[agirnaes]

<p>John,<br>

There are many ways to accomplish this, but here is one way that I do it. First I duplicate the background layer. Then I apply a gausian blur using about a 15 to 20 pixle radius. Then I adjust the transparencyof the blur layer to achieve the desired look that I want. I will then erase the areas that I don't want any diffusion effect (i.e. the eyes, or lips) from the blur layer. Keep in mind that this is somewhat limited, if you have a subject with deep wrinkles and creases, it will soften them, but they will still be quite noticeable, and it may look too un-natural.</p>

<p>If you are looking for an effect that is similar to film with diffusion filters, you can do this with a filter effect called diffuse glow (at least that's what I think the name is). What's pretty cool is to switch the photo to a negative image, apply the diffuse glow, and then switch it back to a positive image. This provides the same effect as putting a diffusion filter on the lens of your enlarger during print processing. It makes the shadows slightly blurry, vice the highlights.</p>

[James G. Dainis]

In my old Photoshop 7.0 there is a Smudge tool. On the tool bar it looks like a hand with an extended finger. When selected you can increase of decrease the size of the brush (circle) doing the smudging. It is located at the top of the page.

[gateway]

<p>Several suggestions for smoothing the lines. I'll work on them.</p>

[charlesheckel]

<p>You specified diffusion effects, but your objective is to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Start with the lighting--diffuse light along the camera axis will get to the bottom of those wrinkles and bring them up to the value of the surrounding skin, thus minimizing them. It's possible to add a Curves adjustment layer and play a little with the sensitometric curve to the same end.<br>

You've gone a good part of the distance by manipulating the image itself, not the subject detail. Aging skin is uneven and could use a bit of smoothing, but over the age of thirty it also exhibits what doctors call particles--moles, cysts, and so on--which can be eliminated or subtly softened with the Clone tool or the Spot Healing Brush. That comes first.<br>

You want to even out the skin, but you don't want it looking like plastic. You want to preserve very fine detail (the skin texture) while eliminating middle-scale detail (blotches) and preserving large-scale detail (eyelashes, folds of eyelids, brow hairs, lip line, teeth). That takes multiple layers, blend modes such as Vivid Light, and special effects such as Filters->Other->High Pass which preserves fine detail at the expense of coarser detail.<br>

There's also Surface Blur, which softens fine detail, but you can adopt Sean's suggestion of inverting a duplicate layer and then apply High Pass to that inversion, which will have the effect of eliminating the fine detail the High Pass filter previously emphasized.<br>

So you would have your background layer, a duplicate layer with High Pass applied, and another duplicate layer, inverted with High Pass applied. If these are Smart images, you'll be able to click on each and dial in the degree of fine detail and softening you want. To localize the effects to the skin and leave the other features out of the picture, you'd want to add layer masks, click on the masks, and paint on them in varying shades of gray with a soft brush to intensify and reduce your effects.<br>

This is getting complicated--though it doesn't end there--and you might decide to take the easy way out and get Imagenomic's Portraiture, with reliably popular results just a click away. If you decide to slog through the details, it's a good idea to bounce your results off a mature woman--there are big differences between the genders on what constitutes appealing cosmetology. Good luck!</p>

[jimmckinnon]

<p>Depending on your expertise and abilities with PhotoShop, you may want to take a look at Anthropics' "Portrait Professional." Very easy to get carried away, but does some acceptable work with just some clicks and a bit less knowledge and experience needed.</p>