In my hunt for imperfect optical lenses (often referred to as 'rock 'n' roll lenses'), I’ve found this easy and inexpensive way to make special photographs. Diffusion filters are an exercise in time travel back to the 1980s and the 1920s, when the great masters used soft filters and Vaseline to soften the image.
Today I'll tell you how to use diffusion filters to make photographs like this one.
I've worked with the Leica Thambar 90mm f/2.2 lens ($8,000) to get that soft, dreamy portrait look, but I was never entirely satisfied with it. After all - this is my conclusion at least - the Thambar was made for a 1920s standard of film cameras and tends not to fulfill the detailed scrutiny of digital sensors.
One of my personal favorites in the use of diffusion filters is the Thriller cover made by Dick Zimmerman, using a Hasselblad 6x6 camera with a diffusion filter (clear glass with white dots). What I like about it is that you don't notice the effect, even though it is clearly there. Special effects should support the story, not be the story.
Hasselblad with diffusion filter (clear glass filter with white dots). The reflection behind MJ is from a plexiglass screen. Dick Zimmerman.
Dick Zimmerman was the celebrity portrait photographer of the 1980s, taking over from the famed George Hurrell, who used large format cameras with a little bit—or a lot—of Vaseline applied to the front of the lens for glow. Both Dick Zimmerman and George Hurrell also mastered the light to capture both details and glow.
George Hurrell (1904-1992) large format camera with Vaseline on the lens
TIFFEN filters
I've used the TIFFEN filters for a few assignments in the past where I worked in darkness with just a few candle lights as a light source (inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s famous candlelit scene in *Barry Lyndon*).
The use of effect filters becomes more visible in moving pictures than in stills. Stanley Kubrick didn't really use any diffusion filters but used the extremely light-strong Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 lenses originally made for NASA, which themselves have soft diffusion.
Soft lenses and diffusion filters seem to glow and come alive with backlight and relatively strong light sources. A candlelight is not a strong light source in itself, but when used in a dark room, it becomes a relatively strong light source that will glow. The ideal setup for the aforementioned Thambar 90mm lens is to have strong backlight from an angle behind the subject and soft light on the face.
However, the problem with soft lenses of the past, without coating to suppress internal reflections, is that light shining straight into the lens tends to create an overflow inside the lens. So, you need sufficient light on the face to capture the texture of the skin and the life in the eyes, while also having strong enough light from behind to create edge-light, as well as an overall glow of the photograph. On the edge of overflow, so to say.
Getting it just right with diffusion filters is a bit of a trick. You want to maintain details, but you also want the diffused, soft glow. In many cases, the softness takes over.
However, here are a few tricks. Apart from the fact that the TIFFEN filters cost very little compared to buying a lens, you can stack them. You can also hold them at an angle with your hand in front of the lens to create diffusion as you wish. Many movies use fishnet or lace on the back of the lens, or in front of it, to create diffusion and flare, but that’s another story for another day.
The point of this story is sharp lens, soft filters
A modern sharp and detailed lens, such as the Leica 50mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4, will usually create a crisp and clear image, with high contrast and many lively micro details.
When you apply a filter in front of it, you soften the glow, but the details largely remain. This is a remarkably beautiful solution in comparison to an entirely soft lens that only offers softness but loses the details of skin texture and hair.
Stacking filters
The diffusion filters from American filter producer TIFFEN are mainly made for cinema, where they add haze, diffusion, glow, and softness to the moving image.
When you do still photography, you tend to need more effect to be able to see and appreciate it in a still photo that is just a single frame, usually seen in a much smaller format than that of a cinema screen.
Here's my 50mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4 stacked with three TIFFEN filters. As you can see, cleaning the filters and lens is the least of your concerns. They just look like you just pulled them out from a drawer after 50 years.
Adding more glow and detail to a soft image
Besides using a sharp lens with soft filters, I also sometimes use Photoshop to enhance the perception of details and glow.
How so?
Simply by making certain details, such as the eyes and lips, more contrasted. You use Photoshop for that. First, you paint the Highlights with the Dodge Tool (set to 5% or 10%), then you paint the Shadows with the Burn Tool (set to 5% or 10%).
I stacked BLACK PEARLESCENT 1, PEARLESCENT 1 and PRO-MIST 1 for my photo of Nikki. For no particular reason other than that I had these filters. I would have used three of the same, but I just didn't have three of the same. So I took what I had to produce an extremely soft image with good micro details (thanks to the lens' optic). See the TIFFEN homepage for all the possible types of filter.
I'll Dodge the reflections in the eye first, then the white in the eye a bit less (I don't like overly white eyeballs, as this looks unnatural), and then I will Dodge stripes in the hair, the highlight in the lips, highlighted edges on textiles, and often jewelry. All that shines gets to shine more. Often, I apply a larger Dodge tool to a V-shape of the face as the last step.
Then I apply the Burn tool to the eye line, the eyebrows, the darker ring around the eye pupil, the shadow under the nose, the lips, and often the edge of the chin if it makes sense. Then with a larger Burn tool, I'll burn the shadows in the hair, the opposite V-shape of the face (the V-shape lightened with the Dodge tool), and the lower sides of the face are burned with the Burn tool to make the face stand out and look slimmer. Then I apply the Burn tool to any shadow areas on the clothing and the background that I want to make darker.
Ideally, as you work with it, the image doesn’t look overdone. In fact, it should feel as if your editing had no effect. If you had made a Duplicate Layer in Photoshop before you started, you can now see the difference you’ve made. It made a big difference, but it still looks natural. That's my ideal.
Original photo:
Enhanced with Dodge and Burn in Photoshop:
50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4 with three TIFFEN filters
50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4 with three TIFFEN filters
Same scene without filters:
Same scene with filters:
50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4
50mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4 with three TIFFEN filters
Making a photograph glow step-by-step
You can add that glow to any photograph by 'painting with light' on it, but in the case of the soft filter, it enhances the sharpness details of the photograph even more while maintaining the soft glow of the overall image.
More to come
Bon voyage with it all.Sign up for the newsletter to stay in the know. As always, feel free to email me with suggestions, questions and ideas. And hope to see you in a workshop one day soon.
/Thorsten Overgaard
"Photography is simple"
Thorsten Overgaard is one of the best to explain in simple terms how cameras works, and how to get excellent results.
Be competent. Buy and study this easy-to-use video class that explains how to get focus right, what sharpness is, how to get the exposure and the colors right, and more ...
"Easy to apply, photography finally told so everyone can become an expert user"
Normal price $498.00
Explained by Thorsten Overgaard by using Leica Q2, Leica SL2, Leica M11, Leica M10 Monochrom, 35mm film cameras, Leica Digilux 2 and more.
Thorsten Overgaard's
"Camera Excellence Class"
For Computer,
iPad, Apple TV and smartphone. Normal price $498.00
Only $198.00
Save $300.00
USE CODE: "COXY66" ON CHECKOUT
Brand new. Order now. Instant Delivery.
100% satisfaction or money back. More info
Thorsten von Overgaard is a Danish-American multiple award-winning photographer, known for his writings about photography and Leica cameras. He travels to more than 25 countries a year, photographing and teaching workshops to photographers. Some photos are available as signed editions via galleries or online. For specific photography needs, contact Thorsten Overgaard via email.
You can follow Thorsten Overgaard at his television channel magicoflight.tv.
