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SOFT FOCUS
Putting it directly into Japanese we get the word that was actually used in the past. Using soft focus, the photo is focussed but the periphial bright areas are a little hazy, and an artistic soft feeling is created. This is different from an unfocussed picture. Apart from using a professional soft focus lens, to achieve a soft focus effect, you can also use a filter. However the professional s.f. lens and the filter s.f. effects are different. The most beautiful effect is the professional lens, the good points being the filter's cost is low and it can be attched to any lens. The thing which you have to take care with wheter it be a professional lens or a filter lens is the lens exposure dial when you take a photo. The soft focus effet islost when you tighten the exposure and the effect is bettered when the background of the subject is black. Another thing is when making the soft focus more difficult, the interesting feeling disappears.
Photo 1 Soft focus is probably the best when taking female portraits. The effect is bettered with a black background.
Photo 2 Flowers too make a great subject of soft focus. In this case too, having a dark background deepens the effect.
SNAP SHOT
The photographic term 'snap' is used wrongly. It seems that people think that a snap is good for taking a souvenir photo or family shot, but this is not so...
The real meaning is a photo that catches people's expressions off guard. Basically it's a photo for taking unknown people and their surrounds. 'Snap' is an abbreviation of 'snapshot' and it comes from a hunting term. The time where the bird flies off from the ground next to a hunter and drops to the ground when it is shot. This is a true snap shot and its from this that the photographic word comes from in the same way as someone hits the shutter button, taking a good photo. You have to hit the shutter button at the right time, and a camera which finds interesting things a good times is important. It's best if you use a 28 mm or 35mm wideangled lens or a good 50mm lens which can get the periphials in the frame. However, there's also the snaps taken with the telefoto lens. You can really say that snaps are one kind of basic photography.
Photo 3 A snap of a mother and child on a street corner in Germany. Western people are full of expression!
Photo 4 This is a streetcorner in Japan. A snapshot of a folk group from South America.