Photographers often need to blur their background for various reasons. With Photoshop’s tools available to them, the process can be quick and painless.
Create a layer mask around the subject of your image so your edits won’t be destructive and allow you to easily return to its original version.
Layer Masks
Layer masks offer a convenient way of blurring photos in Photoshop without permanently altering their content. By keeping the original unblurred version on a separate layer, this method makes reverting back an easy option if necessary. Begin by duplicating your background layer using Cmd+J (or Ctrl+J). Use a selection tool to isolate your subject and add it as a new top layer.
Duplicate this layer, apply Gaussian Blur with desired radius, then add a layer mask (click Add Vector Mask button while holding OPTION or ALT in Windows), select white as foreground color, and paint over any areas that should be affected by blur. As you paint over areas that should be affected, watch the layer mask thumbnail in layers panel for real time feedback on what your effect will look like as you go.
If the edges of your foreground image appear too harsh against its blurred background, use either Refine Edge in the Edit menu or Quick Blur in Filter menu to soften them and achieve similar results with fewer steps and reduced risk of accidental ruining of original image.
Play with perspective by creating tilt-shift blur. This type of blur simulates the effects of shifting a lens to alter its focus point and add movement and depth to landscape or cityscape photography.
If you’re taking portrait or close-up photographs, it may be best to avoid this type of blur, as it may give your subjects an unattractive appearance. While you could still try it, make sure that at least part of the photograph remains focused before trying this technique. Also keep in mind that it often produces artifacts around sharp details and edges; therefore it would be prudent to experiment with various levels of blur before selecting your final shot.
Field Blur
Photoshop offers several types of blur filters, including Field Blur, Iris Blur, Lens Blur, Tilt-Shift and Motion Blur filters. Each provides its own distinct effect; so experimenting is key in order to find which works best for you.
When using a blur filter, it’s essential to remember that it will alter pixels within your image, potentially producing results that look unnatural unless used carefully and with layers and layer masks as protection measures. To protect yourself and make the most out of these types of filters, layering can help ensure the smoothest application experience.
As with other filters, this will help ensure that only the area you wish to blurr is affected by the filter, leaving the rest of the image sharp and crisp. To do this, first select your subject with one of several selection tools (the magnetic lasso tool, pen tool or Select Subject AI option) and create a new layer from it. Next go to Filter > Blur > Field Blur and use its Radius slider to set your desired level of blurring.
After you have created a layer mask, use it to paint over any parts of your image that should remain sharp and clear. Use dark colors for the mask so it will hide layers below without showing through, while playing around with various options in the Field Blur dialog box such as Shape and Blade Curvature to customize its effects further.
Another effective means of blurring the background is using a bokeh effect. This technique makes your subject really stand out against their background. To use it, select your subject with the marching ants selection tool (Cmd/Ctl+J). Press Cmd/Ctl+J again to copy all selected subjects onto a separate layer.
Once your subject is on a new layer, to add the bokeh effect, head over to Filter > Blur Gallery> Field Blur and navigate through its controls and options. In the center of this window is where your active pin will reside – each pin can control different aspects of an image!
Lens Blur
Lens Blur enables you to achieve a shallow depth of field effect that blurs your background while keeping the subject of the photo sharply focused. This is ideal for photographs featuring intricate backgrounds like landscapes, cityscapes or portraits; or simply adding depth or creating specific environments within an image.
Start by selecting your image you wish to blur in your Layers panel, and clicking Filter > Lens Blur from the Filter Menu. This will open the Lens Blur window which allows you to create a mask using selection or layer mask, adjust various settings for customizing blurring and bokeh effects; for instance, using Visualize Depth you can view a depth map with warm and cool hues to identify areas which remain in focus or out of focus, then paint over them using blur brush while changing its size, feathering, feathering, feathering and flow as required.
Your image can also benefit from using either a predefined vignette, or you can create your own using the Vignette controls. Furthermore, you have the option of applying either a soft or hard blur depending on what effect is desired – use Isolate Subject button if only subject is affected by blur and bokeh effects.
As well as these tools, you can also adjust the intensity of the blur and bokeh effect, as well as control its level. Furthermore, noise reduction ensures that resulting images contain less blur and bokeh artifacts compared to original photos, which helps improve their aesthetic appearance.
Noise Reduction
If your image contains digital noise or grain that you would like to reduce, use the Noise Reduction filter for best results. However, be mindful as too much noise reduction can also blur its image.
Blurring effect photography has become an effective way of softening a photograph, drawing viewer’s eyes directly to its subject by distancing background details from viewers and lessening distractions. Adobe Photoshop offers several blurring effects you can apply to photos for this effect.
To use blurring to draw attention to your subject, open your image in Photoshop and duplicate its foreground items using Cmd+J (Mac) or CTRL+J (Windows). Using Paint Brush tool with black as the color choice and selecting black layer mask color as layer mask opacity setting; black hides layers while gray partially shows and white fully unveils them.
Once duplicated, add a gaussian blur to the duplicated layer to blur the entire image. A layer mask allows you to preserve some of the original image if you change your mind about blurring certain areas or need to restore lost details that were obscured when blurring was applied to photo.
Content-Aware fill is another powerful option available in Photoshop to blur images more realistically without spending much time editing them. Using artificial intelligence, this tool analyzes each image to detect what should remain sharp while also blurring what should become less defined over time – thus saving time on editing processes while producing realistic-looking blurring effects.
Are you searching for ways to add artistic flare to your photographs? Try using tilt-shift blur. This tool recreates the appearance of images captured with a tilt-shift lens by allowing you to focus on one part of an image and blur its contents with gradient. This effect is particularly useful for creating toy-like characters or giving an illusion of movement; additionally radial blur can emphasize its center for greater focus.
