How to lend Soft Look to Portraits in GIMP

[Gaurav Prabhu]

I have shot many portraits but all of them are quite sharp. I tried the soft focus effect in GIMP but that did not please me. I want the image to look brighter & soft just so as it looks like shot with a soft focus filter. How can this be accomplished in GIMP?

[RLucas]

Originally Posted by Gaurav Prabhu

I have shot many portraits but all of them are quite sharp. I tried the soft focus effect in GIMP but that did not please me. I want the image to look brighter & soft just so as it looks like shot with a soft focus filter. How can this be accomplished in GIMP?

You can use gaussian blur fairly easy. Duplicate the original layer, and add gaussian blur to the degree of your liking. Add a layer mask, and switch your foreground color to black. Use one of the softer brushes to paint back in the parts you want to remain sharp, i.e. the eyes. Set the layer opacity to your liking, then flatten, and save.
That is the easiest way I know of, and usually pretty good results too!

[teaking]

There are other approaches and they are very similar to what RLucas has said one is to use selective gaussian blur, this keeps edges and blurs surfaces, the other way is to use an highpass filter but you desaturate it invert its colours and blur it this has the effect of softening instead of sharpening.

If you combine any of the softening methods which are low pass filters, with a highpass filter you have a softening effect that removes skin imperfections but the highpass filter brings back skin detail keeping it slightly more realistic and not like plastic. And layer masks are deffinately your best friend here

[wulf]

My preferred technique for the effect I think you are after is to create a duplicate layer, blur it a little and then set to screen mode. Turn the opacity down until the effect is a subtle brightening and softening.

Wulf

[RLucas]

Originally Posted by teaking

There are other approaches and they are very similar to what RLucas has said one is to use selective gaussian blur, this keeps edges and blurs surfaces, the other way is to use an highpass filter but you desaturate it invert its colours and blur it this has the effect of softening instead of sharpening.

If you combine any of the softening methods which are low pass filters, with a highpass filter you have a softening effect that removes skin imperfections but the highpass filter brings back skin detail keeping it slightly more realistic and not like plastic. And layer masks are deffinately your best friend here

I may have to try some of these. I use high pass all the time, but just to sharpen. Never thought about inverting it. Thanks!

[Gaurav Prabhu]

I have done what wulf said. Will try others.