This is pretty much equivalent to a technique I used to see people use in Photoshop. I think it's gone out of style recently, but used to be common (IIRC):

* Import a photo as a layer

* Duplicate that layer

* Increase saturation in that layer and then blur it

* Mix that layer by some percent (20-50?) over the base photo

Gives a nice ethereal feel.

You used to see this all the time in photos. But, maybe it's out of fashion now that everyone knows how to do it :/

Many a deviantART wallpaper pack used this technique in ~2008-2012.

A similar effect was used in analogue photography by putting some stockings on top of the lens. IIRC it is called "flu effect", which seems to be, unfortunately, ungoogleable.

It seems to be referenced on the web, just not as "flu effect"

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/tutorials/home-photograph...

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/diy-photo-filters-with-e...

Such techniques generally are termed "gobos", i.e. "go-betweens".

People used to (kind of) do this on film with landscapes, usually forest scenes, double exposure with one exposure slightly out of focus.

It's pretty incredible how much of Photoshop workflows are really film operations.

That’s because it was developed in the age of analog darkrooms (dodge, burn, etc.).

Even the name of the app was meant to help photographers transition.

It’s really amazing how completely digital photography has replaced film (not really surprising, though).

Film photography demanded a great deal of flexibility and adaptability from its practitioners; which, I suspect, is why they adapted to digital so well.

Some of us are back on the film bandwagon. :)

Matches the time period where bloom was all the rage in video games.

Also

* touch the layer mask to select which/how much select areas are affected

which can produce cool effects such as tilt-shift, fake DoF, speed...

This is quickly hinted at at the article's end.

You can also duplicate the layer into the alpha channel to make it glow-y. Maybe tweak the level. But yeah...

When I recoded my canvas library's filters functionality last year (because: make it more like SVG filters, which allow you to branch the data multiple times, apply various effects, then merge them back into the final output - which is awesome!) I made a decision to include an 'opacity' attribute to each effect so at the end of the effect calculation it can be recombined with the input before outputting to the next effect. This was whimsy on my part, but it does make creating effects like this one quite easy - as can be seen in the Gaussian blur's test demo: https://scrawl-v8.rikweb.org.uk/demo/filters-001.html

I dislike seeing this effect, it reminds me too much of what I see when my glasses are dirty.

Same here, it makes my eyes hurt trying to focus all the time.

The old-school method to do this on purpose was a smear of Vaseline on a glass filter in front of the lens!

Another less-messy way is to stretch a (piece of) pantyhose in front of the lens.

Now I finally understand that one Simpsons joke.

In the colder months I would exhale onto the lens giving me a varied look to this kind of blur. The great thing is it wouldn't last.

See also: Orton effect – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orton_(photography)

> and then merged them with mix-blend-mode.

In the demo, `mix-blend-mode: normal` is used. This is the default, so this line of CSS isn’t required. You can get some interesting effects if you do use one of the other blend modes with the blurred layer.

Usually known as [soft focus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_focus). In lenses, caused by spherical aberration.

An old school way of creating this effect is to stretch a nylon stocking across the lens.

In Photoshop, I would…

1. Duplicate the layer, and in Curves or Levels, ensure that it’s average value is mid grey.

2. Set its blende mode to Overlay or Soft Light.

3. If result too strong, pull the left curve handle up and the right handle down. This will kill the contrast and softer the effect.

Similar process to this….

https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/87565/pages/photoshop-u...

For some reason all I can think of is Lady Galadriel

Another easy way to replicate this:

* duplicate your photo layer

* apply a Gaussian blur to the duplicate (5-10px, depending on total resolution)

* set the blend mode of the duplicate layer to "overlay"

* fiddle with the opacity to reduce the strength of the effect

This might not work so well if the layer was too dark or light. Best to average the layer lightness to mid grey using curves.

The reason: Everything in the Oberlay family is a contrast effect. The darks act to darken, the lights act to lighten. Hence an average of mid grey will be least intrusive.

This is different to the multiply family, which can only darken, or the screen family which can only lighten.

More on overlay voodoo here..

https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/87565/pages/photoshop-u...

Very good point, thank you!

The first image is how I see in real life (without glasses). The glow is not there of course, but the blur, yeah.

A smear of Vaseline on a glass filter in front of the lens was the old-school way to do this on purpose!

A bit off topic, but this remember me the effect used on the Coen brothers movie Inside Llewyn Davis, I love that movie, but the effect throw me off all the time and now is "the movie ruined with that effect" for me.

Ironically, the first image makes me think of a dreamy blur when it's in fact a dirty lens, but the author's image makes me think of a dirty lens when it's a calculated attempt at a blur.

Very similar to this effect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlUhr6ssc1U

Can the real smear be undone using a filter?

Don’t think so. A filter can blur, and in theory can also unblur. But in practice, cannot.

Reminds me of this disturbing case…

https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2007/11/you-can-swi...

Deconvolution might be able to unblur it.

https://www.mathworks.com/help/images/deblurring-images-usin...

You can achieve quite the same effect by rubbing Vaseline on your lens. You can but don't.

I really do not like the effect, but alternatively buy a cheap IR filter and rub the Vaseline onto it instead. Far easier to clean and for more disposable.

Reminds me of how the early bloom effects looked like in video games

How is this different on halation, seen especially on vintage lenses?

Halation is what I call this silvery add-mix blur look. Might not be the accurate term but it's the one I've used since the early 1990s. In those days, when people wanted to make video look like film, the expression, "Add some halation to it," was sometimes used by the old school film/cinema guys.