3 Effective Methods to Blur Backgrounds in Photoshop

A lot of individuals are curious about how to achieve a blurred background in Photoshop. Fortunately, this process is quite straightforward. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the proper techniques to accomplish this effect.

What are the steps to blur the background in Photoshop?

1. Utilize Quick Actions

1. Press Ctrl + F on your keyboard.
2. Navigate to Browse and select Quick Actions.
3. Choose the option for Blur Background.
4. Hit the Apply button to execute the blur.
   

   

2. Implement Iris Blur

1. Open the image that you wish to modify.
2. Go to the Filters menu and select Blur Gallery, then choose Iris Blur.
   

   

3. Position the circular blur overlay around the subject.
4. Modify the size of the circle as needed.
5. Use the gray circles within the blur boundary to control where the blur begins, and the center dial to adjust the intensity of the blur.
   

   

6. Click OK in the toolbar to apply your changes.

3. Manually select the subject and apply blur

1. Firstly, select the subject using any of the available selection tools. The Object Selection Tool is often the most user-friendly, though other options may work better for different images.
   

   

2. After making the selection, press Ctrl + Shift + I to invert your selection.
3. Access the Filter menu, expand the Blur options, and select Gaussian Blur.
   

   

4. Modify the blur level to your liking and click OK to confirm the changes.
   

   

The methods outlined above represent fundamental techniques for blurring backgrounds in Photoshop. Feel free to try each one until you achieve your desired outcome.

If you’re not inclined to use Photoshop, you can easily accomplish a background blur in GIMP with just a few simple steps.

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