How to blur the background in a photo? How to make the background blurry in Photoshop Blurring the background in a photograph.

Greetings, dear reader! I’m in touch with you, Timur Mustaev. I am often asked the question of how to make a blurred background on a camera, and I always answer them that this cannot be done on a camera; it can be done using a camera and an adjacent lens. This is exactly what will be discussed in this article today.

Of course, you can get beautiful blur, but only in the image itself. And do it with the help of a camera (not on it). The correct formulation of a question or task is half the answer. So before experimenting with photography, you need to understand the terminology.

What is bokeh?

Today's lesson will be interesting, as always, and creative. I'll tell you how to make an attractive blurry background in the picture. This is otherwise called bokeh. As you may have guessed, the main object remains untouched, but around it the objects and landscape disappear from visibility, turning into a spot of color, somewhat reminiscent of fog.

It all looks very impressive; many people love bokeh for its ability to highlight the main character in the frame and enhance the sense of perspective of the entire photo. The first point is significant for portrait photography, the second – more likely for landscapes.

I often notice blurry backgrounds in commercial photos, including from famous wedding photographers. But, perhaps, this technique was more popular before, but now it is losing its originality. Bokeh, natural or artificial, pleases the eye, but it will no longer surprise anyone.

Technical points

It doesn't matter which one you have Canon camera, Nikon or, for example, Sony, a beautifully blurred background can be made on any of them, because the principle is the same. The main thing is to be able to use the camera's capabilities. To a greater extent, this effect does not depend on the company or internal structure the camera body, and from the optics, in particular from the aperture parameter (f). There are several ways to easily blur the background. Let's distinguish two groups:

Using camera settings

• Diaphragm: You set the f value to the minimum, that is, 3.5, 2, 1.8..., thereby reducing the depth of space in the image and reducing the number of clearly visible objects.
• Focal length. Turn your zoom all the way down on your lens to achieve blur. Or use long focal length lenses where the focal length is 105 mm, 200 mm, etc. Wide-angle lenses will not give the desired effect.
• Physical distance to object (in meters). Take a few steps towards your subject. BUT: You can get closer to the subject, but the camera will not want to take pictures. This means that you have overdone it and exceeded the minimum photographic distance with your optics - step back slightly.
• Focus ring, spot focusing. The camera lens has an outer ring for manual focus adjustment. Adjust it if a blurred background cannot be achieved by other means. Also, in the settings, select not auto, but 1-point focusing, pointing it at the desired object. With the automatic option, the device itself will determine which parts of the image to make clear, but this situation does not suit us at all.

I note that all of the above methods work on one indicator - depth of field in photography. This is the depth of field of the entire surrounding space falling within the boundaries of the frame. And we need to strive to reduce it. If these points are followed, only one area, usually in the center of the viewfinder and therefore the image, will be absolutely sharp, and the rest will become increasingly blurry as it approaches the edges.

External accessories and items (special attachments, cardboard, etc.)

A translucent scarf can be used very successfully for these purposes. It will enliven the photo with brightness or add tenderness with pastel colors. Lights look interesting and funny; a regular garland located near the lens is suitable for this. It is not necessary to place these objects symmetrically relative to the main object: fill the empty space with them on one side, and balance the composition with the main object on the other. With special attachments everything is simpler - put it on and take a photo.

Making a blurred background

Let me remind you that you can “play” with the background not on the camera itself, but on the image with the direct participation of the camera and setting the settings. The only thing we can do on the device is a device like an external attachment to ultimately get bokeh in the picture. For those who still have little idea how to achieve the effect of out-of-focus or blurry background of a photo, I outlined a few simple steps:

1. Select a subject to shoot. Let's say this is a person. Decide on the place where it will be located. Let the character be distant from the background.
2. Attach a device for blurring the background (a bag, a light scarf, etc.) to the lens so that it partially covers the glass at the edges. This is so useful for enhancing bokeh and creative experiences.
3. Set the minimum aperture that is possible on your optics. You need manual mode, you can select aperture priority.
4. Set the focus to single point and concentrate the main point on the person. Shoot.

By the way, you can use the services of graphic editors to create the desired blur. If your equipment is of poor quality, you are unlikely to notice any blur in the image. This is where your knowledge of Photoshop will come in handy.

In the filters section there is a Gaussian Blur tab. Select the desired area and you're done! Beauty, and nothing more, and without unnecessary hassle during the shooting itself. This is also convenient if there is no blur in the original photo, but you decide that it is necessary there after taking the photograph.

or My first MIRROR– a very competent and useful course, especially for a beginner. They tell you in more detail and with examples how to make a beautiful blurred background. They contain large quantities lessons in all areas of photography. After watching, you will appreciate the effectiveness of video courses.

My first MIRROR- for adherents of the CANON SLR camera.

Digital SLR for a beginner 2.0- for adherents of the NIKON SLR camera.

– a video course aimed more at post-processing photographs using the powerful Lightroom program. The course contains a lot of useful tips for high-quality photo processing.

Lightroom is an indispensable tool for the modern photographer

You are probably wondering why these particular courses, since there are many others on the Internet? I’ll say right away that there are a lot of others, a whole bunch of them, but the question is, are they of high quality? Not always. I have looked at many other courses, but they are very far from the quality of those that I recommend. But as they say, the choice is always yours! My job is to recommend quality!

Happy readers! If you were not yet familiar with such a great way to diversify your work, then be sure to try it. Experiment with shooting people and inanimate objects. Notice for yourself how, moving away from something, someone or closing the aperture, the blur zone changes. Good luck! And remember that you can easily subscribe to my blog, where there are many more useful information for photographers.

All the best to you, Timur Mustaev.

In this tutorial I'll teach you how to create a blurred background effect without glowing halos around the main subject of the composition. First we will use the tool SelectandMask(Select and Mask) to create a perfect selection of the main object and cut it out. Then apply a filter to the background FieldBlur(Field Blur).

Step 1

Open a working photo through the menu File- Open(File - Open). So that we have a backup copy of the unedited photo, use the Ctrl+J key combination to duplicate the original layer.

Name the copy “Blur” and turn off the visibility of the original layer by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer name.

Step 2

First we need to create an accurate selection of the model in the photo. To do this we will use the tool PenTool(P) (Feather). I didn't spend time highlighting the hair because we'll work on finishing that section separately later.

Step 3

Next, without deleting the selection, take QuickSelectionTool(W) (Quick highlight). If you are using Photoshop CC 19.1, a button will appear in the top bar SelectandMask(Selection and mask). Click on it to open a panel with selection options.

If you are using Photoshop CS6, then first apply a mask to the selection layer, then right-click on the mask and select RefineMask(Specify mask). As a result, a window will open with almost the same settings as in SelectandMask(Selection and mask).

Step 4

Opening the window SelectandMask(Selection and Mask), select a tool RefineEdgeBrushTool(R) (Refine Edges) and run it through the hair to remove the background. How does this work? The tool performs calculations and determines where the background is and where the details of the model are.

Please note that I did not save the small stray hairs. Instead, I deleted them beforehand. Later I will write a lesson in which I will tell you in more detail how to cut hair and what to do with small hairs. For now, let's focus on the current lesson.

After working with the tool, you should get a result as shown below.

Below you can compare the results before and after use SelectandMask(Selection and mask).

Do not close the settings window SelectandMask(Select and Mask) and go down to settings OutputSettings(Export settings). On the menu OutputTo(Output in) select NewLayerwithLayerMask(New layer with layer mask). This means that the result of the selection will be displayed on a separate layer with a mask. If you want, you can activate the option DecontaminateColors(Clear Colors) to remove color distortions.

After clicking OK, another “Blur Copy” layer with a mask will appear in the layers panel.

Step 5

Now we have our subject perfectly cut out, we can move on to the background. To begin, re-select the model by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on the mask thumbnail in the layers panel.

Then select the “Blur” layer:

After that we move on Select- Modify- Expand(Select - Modify - Expand):

Step 6

In the window that opens, enter 5 pixels to expand the selected area by this value. Expanding the selection will allow us to avoid the glow around the object.

After expanding the selection, go to Edit- Fill(Editing - Fill) and in the menu Content(Content) select Content-Aware(Subject to content). Configure other parameters:

Step 7

If you turn off the copy of the Blur layer, you will see that the person has almost completely disappeared. Photoshop cloned different parts of the photo and simply filled the selected area with them.

Right-click on the “Blur” layer and select ConverttoSmartObject(Convert to Smart Object). Also, don't forget to turn on the visibility of the Blur layer copy.

Step 8

Now we need to configure the filter. First, add two anchor points in the center of the document (just click the mouse in the place where we want to add a point). This will create a smooth blur from the top center border of the document towards the center. On the panel on the right we install Blur(Blur) by 32 pixels.

If you want to blur the entire background, then one point will be enough. Please note that for each point we separately set the degree of blur.

Click on the document again to add a second point. With this point we indicate the place after which the blur disappears. The program will blur the area only between these two points. If you blur the lower part of the background, the result will not be very beautiful. Therefore, we set the blur of the second point to 0 pixels.

Step 9

Look below at the result of the blur. As you can see, there is no glow around the model:

Don't forget that the filter FieldBlur(Field Blur) we apply to the “Blur” layer. Don't apply it to the Blur Copy layer.

Step 10

If we zoom in on the picture, we will see that there is no slight noise in the background that is present on the model.

Select the “Blur” layer and go Filter- CameraRaw(Filter - Camera Raw).

On the tab Effects(Effects) (fx icon) there are settings Grain(Corn). Just pull the sliders to install Amount(Value), Size(Size) and Roughness(Unevenness) as shown below.

Sometimes it happens that you look so great in your photos, but the background behind you turns out just ugly. And you want to hide all this mess or cut out your figure in the picture. In this article we will tell you how to blur the background of a photo online and for free in just a couple of clicks!

Fabby

You can blur the background in a photo on an iPhone or Android using the application Fabby. It is absolutely free, you can download it from the official AppStore and Google Play.

How to take a photo with a blurred background:

1. Open the Fabby app.
2. In the bottom panel, find the “Background Blur” tab.
3. Don't know how to take a photo with a blurred background? From all the options, you need to choose any one you like and take a photo.
4. If you need to blur an old image, you can select it from the Gallery by clicking on the small circle above the effect itself.

The application is also good because you can not only blur the background in a photo, but also substitute any background for your silhouette. You can choose from ready-made ones: hearts, stars, paradise island, flowers, bubbles, cats, fireworks, donuts, abstraction and much more.

Tadaa and Tadaa SLR

Two applications will help you blur the background in a photo: Tadaa And Tadaa SLR. The first program is absolutely free, but the second costs 299 rubles. Both are equipped a large number useful functions.

How to blur the background of a photo using the application Tadaa:

1. Open the Tadaa program.
2. Find the tab in the bottom panel Blur.
3. A mask will appear that selects only a clear area, and blurs the rest of the background. It can be moved, narrowed and expanded as desired.
4. After the completed operations, save the photo to the Gallery.

Snapseed

You can blur the background of a photo online using the application Snapseed. It can be downloaded for free from official stores AppStore and Google Play.

How to take a photo with a blurred background:

1. Open application Snapseed.
2. Next select Tools-Blur.
3. Move the mask until the desired surface is blurred.
4. Save the photo to the Gallery.

AirBrush

Another program that helps blur the background in a photo is called AirBush. The program is absolutely free. You can find it in official app stores.

How to blur the background in a photo online using the editor:

1. Open application AirBrush.
2. Through Library select the desired image.
3. Tools - Blur.
4. Here you need to use your finger to carefully paint over the area of ​​the background that you want to blur.
5. You can also adjust the blur saturation and size in the bottom tab.
6. Save the photo to your Camera Roll.

Facetune

Facetune is an editor that helps blur the background in a photo. The program will also work Facetune 2. It has a similar function.

How to blur the background:

1. Open Facetune.
2. Upload the desired photo.
3. On the bottom tab, select the item "Blur".
4. Gently use your fingers to blur out all unnecessary space. You can use an eraser to erase anything unnecessary.
5. Save the photo to the Gallery.

Blur and mosaic

Which application and photo editor blurs the background in a photo? This program is called Blur and mosaic. It is also available for download in official stores.

1. Open application Blur and mosaic.
2. Select the desired image from your Camera Roll.
3. The middle line in the bottom panel is the effects.
4. And the lowest line is the intensity and frequency of the effect.
5. You need to use your finger to blot the areas that need to be covered.
6. Save the photo to the Gallery.

In the application, you can also apply a mosaic to the photo.

Be the most stylish! Use super effects.

In addition to sharpness and detail, you can use other techniques to get a unique, memorable photo, for example, the opposite effect - blurring and unsharpness of individual details. This approach will allow you to focus on the central figure of the entire composition, add emotional coloring, movement, volume to the photo, and add a little mystery to the story. By using correct settings camera, simple techniques and the capabilities of a graphic editor, you can create a blurred background, foreground, vignette along the contours of the photo, contrast between the sharpness of individual elements and the blurriness of individual details.

Blurring the background in a photo can be done in three ways:

• Use the capabilities of the lens, the maximum open aperture, minimum depth of field and other equipment settings;
• The “Blur” tool of the Adobe Photoshop graphics editor and its variants;
• Mobile applications and camera capabilities of smartphones;

For professional photographer“power” will not be enough mobile applications. It is better to use the first 2 methods separately or in combination. Any of the options listed will require you to have knowledge and understanding of the process. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Camera lens to blur background

The technical characteristics of the camera and matrix will not affect the ability to blur individual details; the lens will be responsible for this moment. It’s better to take a fast lens, it will be easier to do the rest with it prerequisites for beautiful bokeh.

Bokeh is an optical effect in a photograph, blurring of individual elements, light sources, as well as artistic highlights and reflections in the picture, making up a harmonious picture with other details. Bokeh is an interesting tool that gives a photo a fabulous mood, adding attractiveness to the objects and background of the image.

When setting up your camera to get a blurred background, you need to pay attention to the following important parameters:

• Aperture opening degree;
• Distance to object;
• Focal length;
• DOF;
• Macro mode.

Aperture settings. To achieve a blurred background, you need to narrow the distance where the objects in focus will be as much as possible, so that the foreground and background do not fall into it. This creates blur or unsharpness in the photo. To do this, select the manual adjustment mode and set the maximum possible opening of the aperture in this situation. In numbers, the value will be, on the contrary, small - f /1.8, for example. In this case, by placing the focus point on the subject, you will automatically transfer the details far behind it into the blur zone. The wider the aperture is and the smaller the f-value, the more objects around the subject will be blurred.

Depth of Sharp Image Space, or DOF. In fact, this is the parameter for which other settings are selected. DOF is an area in which all objects are sharp, the rest are blurred. To put it simply, at a certain distance from the photographer there is an imaginary line of the beginning of the sharpness zone, a little further - the end line.

The range and extent of the depth of field depends on focal length lens, the distance of the photographer and the degree of opening of the aperture. As the f value decreases, that is, the aperture opens, the depth of field narrows, as well as with an increase in focal length. To get the most blurred background, reduce the field of focus.

Focal length. Speaking roughly, the parameter is responsible for the sharpness of the object when approaching. The higher the focal length of a lens, the further away the subject can be located. Standard standard lenses are in the range of 18-50mm. To create a blurred background, you will need the longest focal length optics that can bring a very distant object closer, while narrowing the depth of field to minimum values. This will give excellent uniform blur of both the foreground and distant areas.

The distance from the photographer to the subject. A blurred background allows the subject to be photographed as close to the camera as possible and away from the background. When at close range, the lens produces minimum values DOF, with aperture open and maximum focus. Moreover, the foreground will no longer be so blurred, and all objects behind will be as blurred as possible. For example, to get a clear portrait against a blurry background, the distance to the model from a standard “fifty dollar” should be 2-3 meters, and the background should be at least 7-10 meters away. Then no additional manipulations with the image will be needed to achieve the desired effect.

Macro mode among standard settings camera makes it possible to focus on an object located in close proximity to the lens. It allows you to automatically focus on a subject without taking into account the background and surrounding objects. For a beginning photographer, it can be used for product photography, but portrait and landscape photography will still require you to know the above parameters.

How to make a blurred background in Photoshop?

The second way to get a blurred background is to use a program - Adobe Photoshop, even in a standard shell without plugins. The basic tools include blur effects, layers, and various brushes.
Any photograph of an object with a background is taken as a basis and opens in the program. You can blur in two ways:

1. Magnetic Lasso tool.
2. Layers and the Blur Tool.

The magnetic lasso is suitable for small objects with smooth edges; it needs to be selected using points. Then blur the background using the appropriate tool, excluding the selected area.

The second method is more complicated, but more effective, especially if the selected object has uneven edges, a lot of details and it is quite difficult to select it with dots. First of all, we copy the layer using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+J” or creating a new layer. If everything is done correctly, a copy of the original image will appear on the right in the layers column. The work must be carried out with a copy, and the effect is applied to it.

In the “Filters” tab located on the top panel, find “Blur” in the drop-down list. There are several options, they differ in the direction of the “strokes”, the location of the blurred area, and so on.

To fill the image evenly, the “Gaussian Blur” effect is suitable; in its settings, you can change the intensity and radius using the corresponding buttons on the panel. If you are satisfied with the result, then accept it and continue working with the layer.

In the “Layers” tab - “Layer mask” select the “Show all” item. If everything is done correctly, blurry photo will be highlighted with a white rectangle in the list of layers. Next, take a suitable brush and begin to carefully erase the blur layer in those places where the image should be sharp. That is, we remove it to the original image. Using different brushes in size, shape, and hardness, you get different artistic effects, limited only by your imagination. Where you didn’t go over with a brush, there will be a blur.

After completing the design, you need to combine the layers, to do this, select the “Layers” item in the menu, select “Perform flattening” in the drop-down list, the two images become one, now you can save and use them further for their intended purpose.
Such actions will be enough to blur any part of the picture; you can do several levels, repeat the process more than once to achieve the effect of multi-layer blur. Over time, experience will allow you to create more and more daring pictures and combinations, using the “Layers” technique or any other.

Blurred background using smartphone

The creators of smartphones, tablets, as well as application developers do not stand still in terms of processing images obtained from mobile devices. For both operating systems, variants of standard settings, free and paid programs have been developed, installed on all known phone models. Photo processing using a blurred background is also present in many of them. The effect of blurred or blurred background can be created at the time of shooting or on ready-made photographs.

1. In the first case, in the process of focusing on an object, you can select the direction, intensity and location of the blur; most often, its dependence on the size and location of the subject being photographed is adjusted. For this purpose, there are buttons displayed in the camera menu. The disadvantage of this option is the reduction in the quality of the image and the inability to later restore it to its original form.
2. In the second case, the frame is saved in normal mode, and then the application offers options for its design and editing. These editors are automatically preinstalled in Instagram networks When you add a photo to your account, you get access to tools for working with photos. Or the settings are saved in the phone's memory along with the original photo and can be used for any other purpose.

Of course, such images are not suitable for large-format printing and are used mainly for home viewing and for placement in social networks. But the growth of their popularity could not but affect photography in general. Many applications have been created specifically for active bloggers, for those who like to post beautiful pictures online, and for collecting “likes”. This approach no longer applies to photography as art.

Smartphone applications:

• Camera MX offers great set functions for obtaining semi-professional level images. Users can use filters manual settings, all kinds of tools for processing;
• Z Camera offers you to use various filters at the time of shooting, as well as edit them from the gallery.
• Google Camera is installed on some smartphone models and is available for download. The application allows you to use phone cameras at the level of good cameras, process pictures immediately and create collages.
• BestMe Selfie Camera makes it possible to look at the effects for shooting and select interesting option in real time. An excellent application for lovers of high-quality selfies.

• Cymer offers filters and stickers, signatures and various tools for changing the color of hair, eyes, clothes, as well as an intuitive interface for creating collages.
• Footej Camera– an application for those who want to always have a cool camera at hand. It allows you to shoot in RAW format and adjust settings for shooting, just like in a real camera.
• Candy Camera, created specifically for the fair half of humanity, obsessed with selfie pictures. Here you can apply various effects, pictures, stickers, put together a collage, or even do your own makeup.

These applications are available for the Android OS, but manufacturers have also created a considerable number of different assistants for owners of Apple smartphones. Of course, installing them on a smartphone will not make it a good camera with optics, but you will get decent pictures for posting on social media. their networks will be quite sufficient.

Let's summarize the topic

A blurred background in photography is an excellent artistic technique, suitable for both professional and amateur photographs. You can create it in two ways: during the shooting process and by working on the finished photo. In the first case you will need:

• Long focal length lens;
  Maximum open aperture;
  Minimum distance to the subject of filming;
  The maximum distance to the background behind the object.

To get a better quality photo without interference, you need to use a tripod. Of course, if the shooting mode allows the photographer to stay in one place for some time. Choose a situation where you can shoot as close as possible without losing quality. This trick will allow you to move the background away and focus on the object, the rest will become blurry, as intended.

The degree of opening of the aperture and the distance to the object can also be used to adjust the intensity of the blur. Closing the shutters will increase the sharpness of the background, the same will happen if you get closer to the subject or model.

Background blur is a great tool for focusing the viewer's attention on important details, reducing the influence on the overall picture of background elements that do not always fit harmoniously into the photographer’s idea. This is especially true for reportage and street photography, when people, cars and numerous details create a lot of noise in the picture.

Good day, dear readers! I am glad to present to your attention another lesson on the GIMP editor, from which you will learn to create blurred background effect in a photograph.

Of course everyone likes it photos with blurred background. What is the appeal of such shots? But the fact is that with the help of blur we remove all the excess garbage that clogs photo background and only the main subject we are photographing remains sharp. Take a look at these shots.

Or, for example, when photographing some dish

Such photographs reek of “professionalism.”

How to make such a blurry background?

Create silence..., now I will reveal to you the terrible secret of the recipe for such a shot. You will need:

1) Good camera, mainly “DSLR” with interchangeable lenses, For example budget option Canon 1100d

2) A lens with a large aperture, for example, if you have a Canon camera (like me), then the cheapest option would be to buy a Canon 50 1.8 lens

3) Put the lens on the camera and install creative mode AV (or manual - M), which allows you to adjust the aperture value.

4) Set the aperture to 2, or even better to 1.8

5) Filming...

Here's an example recipe for getting a blurred background in an image. But if finances do not allow you, then we can get remotely closer to the blurred background using processing in graphic editors, such as photoshop and gimp. Thanks to the built-in tools in the editor, we can make the background of a regular photograph taken on a regular digital compact camera, the so-called “point-and-shoot” camera, appear blurrier.

And how this is done, we will now learn from today's lesson.

Step 1. Open the original photo in the editor

Step 2. The next step is to highlight the main object in the photo, which we want to make sharp. To do this, the simplest, but at the same time universal method is to use the “Free Selection” tool or the so-called “Lasso” (as in Photoshop). After this, carefully outline the object. The more checkpoints you set, the better.

Step 3. While the selection is active, create a copy of the original photo through the “Layer – Make a copy” menu or by clicking on the “Make a copy of layer” icon

Step 4. Now you need to right-click on the top layer and select “Add alpha channel” from the context menu that opens.

After that, press the Del button. See what you should get if you temporarily turn off the visibility of the bottom layer.

Turn on the visibility of the layer below again and remove the selection using “Select - Remove”

Step 5. Now let’s use the standard filter of the blur editor through the menu “Filters – Blur – Gaussian Blur” and set the desired value in the settings.

Help: This value depends on the original photo. The higher the resolution (photo size), the larger the entered parameter. For this example I took the size 30px

Step 6. If necessary, you can adjust the opacity of the top layer with the effect; to do this, move the opacity slider to the left until you achieve the desired effect. For example, I set the value to 80.

So, in a few simple steps, we got a sharp object, which now focuses the main attention of our viewer.

Soon I plan to tell you friends about the creation of more realistic background blur using additional. If you don’t want to miss the release of this lesson, I recommend it.

That's all for me. Thank you all for your attention and see you in new lessons.

P.S. Special thanks to reader Lare for the lesson idea!

Best regards, Anton Lapshin!

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