I’ve had a lot of fun this morning playing with Lightroom. I’ve not done anything else, but I’ve had fun thanks to Bren of Brashley Photography’s challenge: Bringing Softness.

First I started with flowers. I did a select subject in LR and then inverted the selection, used the radial filter so some of the flower would be soft and then finished with moving the clarity slider over to the left. I also added a vignette.

Then I wanted to see how the technique would work on animals. I picked the Capybara (world’s largest rodent) and orangutan at the Sacramento Zoo. This wasn’t as easy as flowers but I did pretty much the same technique. I wanted their faces to remain sharp.

I also tried buildings in Boston. I’m not sure the technique worked as well. The radial filter became my friend. I wanted some of the building to remain in focus. In the corner building on the right, the doorway should be in focus.

I’ll finish with my landscape experiment. The first one on the left is from the Tulip Festival at Ananda Village. I think the clarity technique added a dreamy softness. The middle image is from a trip to Port Costa and taken on the way. The dreamy look is more slight. The last, on the right, is from the Port Costa trip also. I liked the way the background was made slightly soft while the railroad tracks in the front remained sharp.

Thank you Bren! I love learning new techniques, especially when I can use software I already have. Remember to link your response post to hers and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week we saw and read about many differences with Amy’s challenge of East meets West. I enjoyed all you responses. Next week, Ann-Christine will present the challenge.

I will be on vacation through March 17th and not posting. I’ll see you all when I get back.

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info. 

44 thoughts on “Lens Artists Challenge #237: Bringing Softness”

  12. Thank you for including an explanation of your technique alongside these lovely images. I don’t have Lightroom but I’m sure I could try something similar with Elements. I love how your flowers have turned out, also the orangutan and tulip festival shots 😀

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  13. Wow. What colorful interpretations and lessons about how YOU achieved the goal. The flowers were brilliant, and you were right, the clarity on the animal faces makes a difference. My favorite was the path to the cottage. But a beautiful take on the theme.

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  18. Just lovely! I was surprised at the great results on the animals, especially the capybara. Its coat is a fluffy dream. The flowers gorgeous, and the little fairy tale house seems to come right out of a children’s book. Wishing you a lovely trip!

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