Adding Soft Focus Effect to images.
This is a quick way to emulate the effect of a soft focus filter on your lens. Good for landscapes with trees.
Step One. Open image. Duplicate the background layer by pressing Control-J.
Step two. Go to filter menu, under Blur and choose Gaussian Blur. For high-res images, enter about 20 pixels. (For low-res images, try 6-10 instead) click OK.
Step Three. That amount of Gaussian Blur will blur the entire image so much that it'll be hard to see any detail. So bring back the detail, go to the layers palette and lower the Opacity setting of this blurred layer to 50%.
Step Four. Lowering the Opacity setting allows the detail to come back, but along with it comes a soft glow that gives the image a dreamy, almost painted look, which completes the effect.
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