What do you do when your lens is TOO sharp?

[Tuolumne]

As Roseann Rosanna Dana used to say, "If it's not one thing, it's another."

Having finally conquered my my R-D1 magenta issues with filters, having aquired the lenses for shooting theater that I could focus, having decided that more depth of field was better than less for theater photography, I now get photos that are too damn sharp. Every single blemish exposed by the direct lighting and the camera lens.

What do you do to unsharpen a lens when it shows every single blemish on a pretty girl's face? Your postprocessing ideas welcome. Also, any suggestions for more flatering lenses? The attached was taken on an R-D1s @ ISO 1600 with a 75mm f2.5 Summarit set to f4 @1/250.

/T

 

[Leighgion]

If only we could all be having your problem. 🙂

Might consider a soft focus filter. Otherwise, stage lighting being what it is I'm not sure how much can be done in-camera. There's the usual Photoshop portrait skin softening remedies, but that takes time and is rather against the semi-photojournalistic nature I'd associate with theater shooting.

 

[J. Borger]

I do not think the picture is too sharp in general.
In this case i would stay away from softening actions and just use the clone stamp to retouch a little bit ( a little bit 😉 ... because i personaly hate overretouched pictures)
Here is a quick take on your picture... just using the clone stamp on the girl to the left on your web-jpeg

 

[J. Borger]

If you realy want to soften the picture ... the simplest way is to use a small amount of gausian blur in PS ......... just play with the settings of the filter

 

[iridium7777]

no one suggested it yet so it might be worth a try.

to soften a lens: you can use a very fine sand paper and gently grind the back element of the lens. 3M makes a great 15micron pad, you can buy it pretty much any home store. apply a little water or even spit as you don't want to grind the glass when it's dry.

 

[Tuolumne]

no one suggested it yet so it might be worth a try.

to soften a lens: you can use a very fine sand paper and gently grind the back element of the lens. 3M makes a great 15micron pad, you can buy it pretty much any home store. apply a little water or even spit as you don't want to grind the glass when it's dry.

I was actually thinking of the finest grade of carborundum. I used to make telescope mirrors.

/T

 

[Toby]

DON'T Blur the picture.

Open the photo in Photoshop
Create a new layer
Using the Healing Brush Tool Sample a good area of skin and retouch the blemishes.
If the effect looks unnatural reduce the opacity of the layer until it looks more natural.

To further improve skin tone-
create another layer
Select the paintbrush tool and select an area of skin with a pleasing tone
Paint over uneven skin with the brush set to soft edges and about 50% opacity
After this stage reduce the opacity of the layer until the effect looks natural.

Refer to 'Skin' by Lee Varis if you want to know more about retouching.

Both these techniques take a little practice but they are way better than blurring.

I can demonstrate this on you photo if you'd like

 

[drewbarb]

In the commercial studios, we used to take an old beat up filter and smear a thin coat of Vaseline on it- a little more on the edges and less in the middle. Makes a great cheap soft- focus filter; you can vary the effect by varying the coating of Vaseline.

 

[sauerwald]

My solution won't help you, but I use a piece of nylon stocking, held in an embroidery hoop, between the lens and the easel when enlarging the negative.

Does wonders to soften the features of women in a portrait, and if you wish, you can soften only the face and leave other parts of the image sharp.

 

[xayraa33]

replace that lens with a black Jupiter 3, they all seem kind of soft at f1.5

 

[icebear]

Hi T.
you could use it all the way open, not at f/4, if you don't like it that sharp.
As for documentary I wouldn't mind to show what is actually there - a little spot on the skin. Everything needs to be spotless and perfect (does it really?) - if it's a regular, non-doctored , non-nipped & tucked person w/o several layers of make-up there will be some spots.
And yeah, there's always PS to help here and there.
Of course some sanding or the vaseline suggestion already came up, a piece of transparent Scotch tape in the middle of the filter will do too - easier to remove than the vaseline - not talking about re-polishing after heavy sanding 😀 .

 

[agentsim]

What do you do when your lens is TOO sharp?

You give it to me 🙂

 

[mfogiel]

I don't think polishing your lens with sandpaper or putting a stocking is the answer. The best way is to clone out the most evident blemishes, and simply reduce the contrast on the photos. If you want a lens which is a natural portrait lens, get the C Sonnar 50/1.5 - it will never be as harsh as "modern" lenses, until you stop it down to f8.0 or beyond, and it will give you generally a much more pleasant drawing. At the same time it will control the flare in an exceptional manner, like only the modern lenses do.

 

[Cindy Flood]

I agree that you have to be careful. I may have gone too far. I touched up a few of the worst blemishes on both with the healing brush. Then I duplicated the layer and put a gaussian blur of .7 on the photo. I made a mask and returned the photo to original by filling the mask with black. Then I took a brush with the foreground set to white and painted the faces. I backed off the opacity of the layer to about 75%. I put the diffuse filter on the entire shot (distort, diffuse filter at 0,3, 14).

The players in the theater group know that those girls don't have perfect skin and you don't want your shots to look too fake.

 

[jan normandale]

Quit using a Leica Summarit and use a PoS lens like the rest of us use.

 

[icebear]

T.
and as you asked for suggestions of alternative lenses: lux 1.4/75 wide open, or if you don't mind the bulk go for the nocti ....LOL.

 

[bmattock]

Seriously, that is a problem I would love to have. Like having too much money.

I'd just use a different lens when shooting portraits, I guess. If it was that big of a problem. Or a filter. I'd never consider wrecking a lens to reduce its sharpness. What happens if you reduce it too much? You can't make a board longer after you cut it too short.

However, if you have more money than sense - go for it. The world needs people spending money like drunken sailors. I've done my part, but I'm maxed out now.

 

[Tuolumne]

I was only kidding about sanding the lens. I am not a NUT!

/T

 

[uhligfd]

Only use pinholes; they are never too sharp for my taste/eye. But unfortunately they have no glass, so you cannot dull them with sandpaper if you ever wanted to hide the natural skin.

How about suggesting plastic surgery for the actor's face if you do not like it as it is?

WHAT a PROBLEM!

 

[bmattock]

I was only kidding about sanding the lens. I am not a NUT!

/T

I was going to suggest having some work done on your eyes to reduce sharpness so that you would not be bothered by things that are too sharp anymore, but then I thought that would be mean.

So I won't say it.