There's a surprising amount of debate about how and when to use soft focus camera lenses. The basic lens came about due to a spherical aberration in the lens that keeps it from focusing sharply. A modern soft focus lens is essentially just a copy of one of a few types of defective antique lenses. You can use filters, diffusers and enlargers before you buy a lens to practice.
Instructions
1. Experiment with soft focus photography effects before you invest in a soft focus lens. A diffusing disc, smoke in the background, or smearing a little petroleum jelly on a filter creates the same effect, though it's a little bit harder to control the outcome.
2. Go for an affordable soft focus lens if you're new to this kind of photography, as some lenses can be pricey and this is a very specialized photography tool that you may not use daily.
3. Pay attention to aperture setting with your soft focus lens. Take many extra pictures that are almost identical with different aperture stops because it's difficult to predict exactly how the image will appear after it's developed with a soft focus lens.
4. Adjust light frequently to enhance your soft focus lens images. Effective lighting is important in all photography, but it's absolutely critical with soft focus photography, as the emphasis is on color and lighting in the composition as opposed to line and structure as it is in most other forms of photography.
5. Tweak a soft focus image in the lab with an enlarger. This isn't necessarily the "best" method, but can be used to enhance a soft focus image if you don't mind losing some contrast and resolution.
Tags: soft focus, focus lens, soft focus lens, with soft, with soft focus
