Diffusion/soft focus effects

[Joe Peoples]

What is your preferred method for diffusing portraits? Do you use a filter in front of the lens or do you use a software plug-in? If so, which one? Thanks, Joe

[Ron]

I use a one of several filters on my film cameras.
On the D30, I use none because I can control the amount later.
In photoshop, I duplicate the layer, gaussian blur the bottom later, then add some transparacy to the top layer. This gives sharp details with a really nice softness.

[Vincent_MacNamara]

Try duplicating the layer in Photoshop, and apply Gaussian Blur to the top layer. The amount will depend on the size of the image. Change the blending mode to lighten, and adjust the opacity to get the effect you want. (Darken also works, but the shadows will bleed instead of the highlights - like adding soft focus at the printing stage.) Play around with the opacity of the top layer to adjust the effect