A little help?

[JosShavaughn]

How do I create a pretty noticeable blur, like a soft focus effect over the entire picture. I tried doing a smart blur, but it wasn't strong enough for my taste, and in class I really haven't learned how to do this. I know photoshop can do it, b/c I can do it on my photoshop iPhone app.

Advice would be very much appreciated! Be a little extra detailed, I'm very much still a newbie w/ photoshop. I also want to do this w/ several other pictures, so please don't just do it for me.

[Dobick]

you might try adding a layer and then running a smart blur again until you get the effect you are looking for

[rhoffart]

Gaussian Blur ...

here ya go ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvgdzZceLv4

[Patti Edens]

Do an Orton effect. There are lots of ways to do it. Google Orton.

Try this simple one:

Open your image in Photoshop and then duplicate the background layer (CTRL J).
On the duplicate layer: IMAGE > APPLY IMAGE.
In the dialog box, select SCREEN from the Blending drop down menu. Layer should be set to MERGED and opacity should be set at 100%, both by default. Leave the 2 boxes at the bottom unchecked and then hit OK.
Still on the top layer, hit FILTER > BLUR > GAUSSIAN BLUR and set the amount of blur to between 10 and 20 pixels. (Experiment with this. You might need more or less.)
Now change the Blend Mode to MULTIPLY. If it makes the image too dark, you can try SOFT LIGHT or experiment with other Blend Modes. Different Blend Modes work well with different images.
Now flatten the image and tweak the brightness and color as you would with any image.

Another step: This is what I do. I copy the completed Orton image and paste it on top of the original. Then I put a mask on the Orton layer and with a soft black brush I paint the detail back into certain areas - like the eyes or other areas that look better sharp.