By Marianne Wood

Working for a photographer, I’ve learned some unfamiliar jargon. “A little soft” intrigues me the most, so of course, an investigation followed rumination. Here’s what I have learned and applied from this terminology.

First, I consulted “Webster Britannica,” an early marriage nickname for my husband, who has very full mental files on everything from song lyrics to biblical begats. He worked for a 24-hour photo lab as a teen and into his 20s, developing everyone’s, yes, yours, too, vacation and Christmas pictures. Customers’ baggies full of film usually arrived in bulk in January and July. Sometimes, Christmas snapshots would be turned in with summer vacation ones. Or vice-versa. Occasionally, he tells me, the power went down during processing, and the company handed patrons a free roll of film with a sincere apology. 

Not now. How things have changed! 

Larry’s knowledge of photography came partly from his father, Ed, a photo enthusiast with a full-scale darkroom and many cameras. So when I asked what he thought the term “a little soft” meant, he described it saying, “the photographer’s intention does not meet the viewer’s eyes. In other words, the photo lacks a focal point.” The website photo.stackexchange.com adds, “If you’re talking about focus, soft focus usually means a shallow depth of field and slightly blurred focus, which creates ‘soft’ edges around the subject.”

This spare research fits with what I’ve been learning on the job from my employer and from using some sensational photo tools: Adobe Photoshop and LightRoom. It also meshes with what I’ve been learning as I age. I am getting softer physically, mentally, and emotionally. I like only the last aspect of this list. “Softer emotionally” connotes a growing grace. 

As the world becomes seemingly angrier, I cannot help but wonder why more people do not share this lens. 

Shouldn’t WE have a shallower depth of field and a slightly blurred focus, creating soft edges around each other? I don’t want harder edges. I’m sick of bickering, belittling, and blaming. 

Often, we miss other people’s true intentions. Due to our selfish biases, we sharpen their sentences by misinterpreting a vision. We choose not to reframe negative impressions. We fail to offer the benefit of the doubt. But there is an antidote.

“Love one another.” Christ’s succinct new commandment provides us with the basic solution for developing a softer perspective. When we couple this direct request with communion: taking his life symbolically yet actively into ours and practice daily prayer, we thrive. It is so simple, yet so very hard. I’m working on it.

Marianne Wood works as an editorial assistant and researcher for Bill Wright