There are many ways to get a soft, dreamy effect in photos, and many reasons why you might want to use that effect.

For the Lens Artists Challenge this week Bren of Brashley Photography challenges us to use softness to process our photos. I often use a bit of softness to change the mood or help draw the eye in my compositions. There are several tools and techniques for doing this.

Long Exposure using a Neutral Density Filter to get a soft effect

First, I want to share an experiment that I did last summer: increasing exposure time. This technique smooths out quickly moving objects (in my case it was water), while keeping stationary parts of the composition in sharper focus. You increase the exposure time by using a neutral density filter in tandem with a higher f-stop (smaller aperture) and the lowest ISO available for your camera.

Deception Creek near Skycomish in Washington State roaring with snow melt. — Scene without ND filter

Deception Creek near Skycomish in Washington State makes a great example of how a neutral density filter smooths out the appearance of water. Softening the mood of the photo. — Scene without ND filter

Topaz Studio 2 Filters and Looks

Topaz Studio 2 has several filters that can be used to soften an image, and a whole set of “looks” (a.k.a., presets) for achieving a soft effect. Here is an example using filters to reduce the contrast and detail. I also added a light vignette.

A pea blossom. — Example using Topaz Studio 2

I used Topaz Studio 2's precision detail and precision contrast filters to soften the image and give it a more dreamy mood. — Example using Topaz Studio 2

Some options in the GIMP for soft, dreamy effects

Another method you can use is the Orton Effect. This post explains how to get the effect using the GIMP.

Path way at Rasar State Park in Washington State. — Original photo

The Orton effect changes the mood of the photo to be more mysterious. The woods appear more soft and dreamy and the lighting less harsh. — Original photo

Another tool inside of the GIMP that I like to use is the G’MIC plug-in’s Smooth Abstract Filter. G’mic Smooth Abstract Filter Demonstration.

The G'MIC Smooth Abstract filter gives an image a soft, dreamy feel.

Raw Therapee’s Tone Mapping

Another technique I like makes use of the Tone Mapping tool inside of Raw Therapy. This tool can make an image dark and dreamy or very detailed and bright, depending on what settings you use. For this example I created three versions of the same image then used layer masks in the GIMP to combine them into one image. In this case the center is sharp and the two out layers become gradually darker and less sharp.

An oriental poppy, processed using Raw Therapee and the GIMP.

To get an idea of how to do this here is a screen shot of the layers and layer masks. I used the vignette filter (in the Filters>Light and Shadows menu) to make the layer masks.