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Hey gang in need a little help. Ever since my friend showed me these awsome pictures she took  that had all these special effects in them (weird strands of light coming out, cool blur effect,etc) i wanted to know how she did it, but she wont tell me!i wanted to know if anybody can help me with this  or gime some sites that might help. I am using a  Nikon  digital camera.Thanx

You can get some filters to fit the front of your lens that will give certain effects such as a SPECTRAL or PRISM filter (there are other names for them as well) in the proper light you can get rays of colored light. You can use a SOFT FOCUS or CONTRAST filter to soften the image. If you want to use software, you can find PHOTOSHOP plug-ins (many free) that can give you interesting effects. If you don't have PHOTOSHOP you can still use the plug-ins with PAINTSHOP PRO or a freeware editor called IRFANVIEW. If you are looking to buy filters you can check online with PORTER'S CAMERA or B&H PHOTO/VIDEO. If your camera does not have a filter ring, POLAROID used to make (and maybe still do) a filter set for their cameras that would clip to the inside of the sliding lens cover and would also work with several point & shoot cameras. If you are taking digital images, I would recommend the PHOTOSHOP plug-ins because if you use a physical filter, that effect is always going to be part of your image and could degrade the quality of the image. This is taking into consideration that a lot of people work with a digital camera with an image capacity of 3-5 megapixels. A 35mm frame of 100 speed film holds the equivalent of 15 megapixels of image quality giving you more room for image degradation. If you want to use physical filters and want to save money, here are a few tricks: 1) to soften the image and reduce constrast you can put a piece of screen wire (tight weave), such as you would find on a screen door, in front of the lens; the wire will not become part of the image because it is too close to the lens 2) for a blur effect you can smear vaseline on a clear piece of plastic and hold it in front of the lens; you can also use a cloudy piece of plastic 3) for multiple image and prism effects find a cheap kaleidiscope(sp) or other toy that gives visual effects and remove the plastic lens from it. Most anything that is transparent to a degree can be used as a filter or effect.