Dreamy effect

andphotography · September 30, 2011

New timer to phot editing and PSE9. What is the best way to get a picture the dreamy effect/white haze effect. I have tried blending two copies (one of which is gradient blurred) with screen blending but my images turn out very bright and when I adjust the contrast to correct this the bream like haze goes away. Also - a lot of the kids shots I see and want to duplicate have a white hazy "border" around the edges as well. how can I get this effect? I try with the borders or shapes but the edge is too crisp... thanks for helping a beginner!

BinaryFx · September 30, 2011

Have you tried darkening the base image before screen blending the blurred copy? Moving on, a quick and easy method may be to use this free filter:

http://www.autofx.com/freeplugins/dreamyphoto.asp?id=4

The border can be done in many ways that all end up looking similar. One way is to add a feathered selection or a feathered (or blurred) layer mask. Simply doing a Google search for "soft white edge border, photoshop" should return many step by step tutorials, you should be able to do the same in PSE.

Have fun!

Stephen Marsh

Peano · October 2, 2011

Here is a tutorial: http://www.ethiriel.com/wordpress/archives/1189#more-1189

For a portrait, I would add a layer mask and paint with black to restore sharp focus to eyes and perhaps other facial features.

Dreamy effect

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