What color filter?

[Crockett]

I'm a newbie to photography but have played with a SLR in my distant past. I've bought a Canon XTi and have been told I should have a filter for portrait photography -- to soften the faces of my "older" subjects.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Would a filter be a benefit -- and if so, what filter (color) should I be looking at?

Thanks,
Crockett

[Photo-John]

You don't really need a filter for digital cameras. It can almost all be done with software. In fact, that might be what they were trying to tell you. There are a bunch of Photoshop "plug-ins" available that are specifically meant for processing portraits. I'm not really familiar with those filters, but people on the studio forum might be. And you might just start with a bit of selective blurring using Photoshop. There's a lot that can be done with the standard set of Photoshop filters.

[milhouse]

I'm a newbie to photography but have played with a SLR in my distant past. I've bought a Canon XTi and have been told I should have a filter for portrait photography -- to soften the faces of my "older" subjects.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Would a filter be a benefit -- and if so, what filter (color) should I be looking at?

Thanks,
Crockett

Your looking for a soft focus filter or diffuser. Cokin, Hitech, Hoya and Lee offer some options. You could aslo turn down the shapness in the camera settings for similar effect.

[Ronnoco]

The advantage to PhotoShop blurring or filter plug-ins is that you can de-emphasize wrinkles and skin problems while selectively keeping the eyes sharp.

Ronnoco

[milhouse]

The advantage to PhotoShop blurring or filter plug-ins is that you can de-emphasize wrinkles and skin problems while selectively keeping the eyes sharp.

Ronnoco

I agree, unless you didnt want a lot of post production work.