How to blur the edges of an image in Photoshop. How to Blur the Edges of a Photo in Photoshop
Photographers put a lot of effort into achieving high-quality images. However, the blur of the photo also plays a role important role in photography. For example, the blurred background effect allows you to pay more attention to the main subject rather than the background. The movement of the camera when shooting creates the illusion of movement, and by changing the focus to other objects, you will be able to highlight some details of the photo separately from others.
Blurring a photo directly while shooting requires a lot of skill and there is a high probability of ruining the photo altogether.
Therefore, it would be much more correct to do these effects after shooting in Photoshop. In the last Adobe versions Photoshop CC has some interesting new blur tools, but in this article, I won't go into detail about each of them. I'll tell you about the basic techniques that are used when processing photographs.
Most often, the blur effect is used specifically for the background of a photograph. Blurring the background allows you to highlight the main subject, hide unnecessary details and create more space in the photo.
Unlike other types of blur, it is best to do this when shooting, setting the aperture to the maximum open in the settings and focusing on the main subject.
To blur a background separately from the main subject in Photoshop, you need to select it. This can be done before or after blurring.
Depending on the complexity of the subject, its shape, contrast in relation to the background, you need to select the most suitable lasso tool and select the main object of the photograph. Details about selection methods and choosing the appropriate tool are described in detail in
When the main subject is selected, copy it to a separate layer - Layer/New/Copy to new layer...(CTRL+J).
Many people use Gaussian Blur in this situation, but it gives the wrong result. If you want to get an effect close to a real photograph with an open aperture, then you need to use - Filter/Blur/Shallow DoF Blur...
Unfortunately, almost always an unattractive glow appears around the object, which can only be removed manually using the Stamp or Healing Brush tools. As shown in the image below, you need to sketch the main subject on a blurry layer.
Blur Tool
For parts of a photo or individual details of a photo, it is better to use the Blur Tool. It works like a regular brush, which has its own pressure force. It is enough to apply a stroke with this brush and the object will lose clarity.
The Blur Tool is suitable for, for example, quickly blurring uneven skin.
This technique allows you to blur the edges of the image or fill them with the overall tone of the image.
If the frame has hard edges and a large blur radius, it can serve in place of a regular photo frame. A smooth flow, as in the image below, allows you to draw more attention to the center and smooth out unnecessary details.
Make a duplicate of the layer so you can revert in case of an error. Select an area with the Rectangular Lasso Tool, as shown in the screenshot below. Invert the selection - Select/Invert...(CTRL+SHIFT+I).
Right-click on the selection area and select "Feather..." Depending on the size of your photo, set the feather in pixels (about 50-150 pixels). This is the distance to which the blur will extend from the selection border.
It all depends on the style of photography. Sometimes, you don't need to set Feather values. Your frame will be more visible and have crisp edges.
Now, go to - Filter/Blur/Gaussian Blur... Set the desired value. Great value radius creates a slight toning with the overall background color.
There are photographs in which blur does not need to be done. rectangular shape, and the other. To do this, area and apply the filter described above.
The right blur effect will help you create the illusion of something moving in a photo.
For example, the Motion Blur filter blurs the photo, similar to direct camera movement when shooting. This effect is always used in photographs of moving cars, trains, and airplanes.
The bison in the photo appears to be running forward thanks to the application to the background - Filter/Blur/Motion Blur...
The settings specify the angle and degree of displacement. Of course, before this you need to select the background so that the main subject is not blurred either.
The Circular Blur filter creates the effect of the camera rotating when shooting. Can be used in photographs with rotating objects.
The ring method imitates the rotation of an object, and the linear method imitates its sharp approach.
To prevent text from getting lost in a photograph, many different techniques are used to create contrast with the background. Perhaps one of the best is to blur part of the photo so that small contrasting details do not interrupt the text.
Often this blur is done by smoothly flowing from a clear image into a uniform tone. The inscription on this blurred background is perceived as integral with the photograph.
Select an area with any lasso tool and set the Feather.
As shown in the picture below, the text against such a background is clearly readable and perceived as one with the photograph.
If you need to hide facial features in a photo, hide a car license plate, or remove the recognition of something, use - Filter/Appearance/Mosaic...
This technique covers areas with a mosaic with a large grain so that the details are not recognizable.
If required, use retouching tools such as Stamp or Healing Brush.
VIDEO LESSON: Blur in Photoshop
You can express your gratitude for the lesson in the comments to this article.
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Good day to you, my dear friends. Christ is risen! How are you doing? How are you feeling? I have an excellent one! Feels like May. But let's move on to the article. Previously, from time to time I saw very interesting effect in photographs, when the edges are a little blurred, but the photo itself remains untouched. That's why I also decided to do the same effect on some of the images.
And today I will show you how to do it blurred edges in Photoshop. And I will experiment on the old Spider-Man from the film of the same name. You can, of course, select the Blur tool and simply paint over the edges of the image. But in my opinion this method is not very good, so I will use others.
This is how we blurred the edges of the image. And it took us no more than a minute. But as you can see, the blur has clear boundaries. Some like to leave it that way and some prefer smooth transition.
Advice: In fact, you don't have to make two selections with Alt held down. You can make one selection only in the place where the blur will go. And after that you need to invert the selection. To do this, press the key combination SHIFT+CTRL+I or select the menu “Selection” - “Inversion”. Then you will automatically have a selected frame.
Smooth blur
In order for us to have a smooth transition, we need to complete the first two points from the previous method, but then the course will change a little.
Please note ! The size of the Gaussian blur and feather radius depends on the size of the image itself. Here I was focusing on this particular size. Experiment.
Other Blur Methods
You don't have to use a Gaussian filter, there are many other blur filters. Let me show you another example, and then you can try it yourself.
I think it turned out great. The picture became more interesting. You can see for yourself other filters from the same group and see how they work and what effects they give.
Well, that seems to be all I wanted to tell you about this. Yes. This is a small and simple lesson.) But if you want to master Photoshop completely, then I strongly recommend that you fully study one cool video course. Thanks to it, you will be able to learn Photoshop in the shortest possible time, unless of course you are lazy.
Well, I'm done for today. I look forward to your comments on the topic. And by the way, be sure to subscribe to blog updates, then you will always know about the release of new articles on the topics you need. I also advise you to take a look at the blog, as there are a lot of articles and you will probably find something interesting for yourself. Good luck to you. Bye bye!
Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.
Today the doors to the magical world are open to all of us. computer technology, now you don’t have to, as before, fuss with developing and printing - and then be upset for a long time that the photo turned out a little unsuccessful.
Nowadays, from a good moment to being captured in a photo, one second is enough, and this can be a quick shot for a family album, or a highly professional shooting, where the work is just beginning after transferring the “caught” moment.
However, processing any graphic file Today it is available to anyone, and you can learn how to take beautiful shots yourself very quickly. One of the most popular programs, which help polish any photo, of course, is Adobe Photoshop.
In this tutorial I will show you how easy it is to create blurred edges in Photoshop. I think it will be both interesting and useful!
The simplest way. To blur the edges, open desired image, actually, in Photoshop, and then we decide on the area that we want to see blurred as a result of our efforts.
Do not forget that we are not working in Photoshop with the original! We create additional layer always, even if you already know how to work well with photos - occasional failures should not spoil the source in any case.
On the left small vertical panel in Photoshop, right-click on the tool called “Selection”, and then select « Oval area» . Using it, we determine the area in the picture that does NOT need to be blurred, for example, the face.
Then open “Selection”, select “Modify” and “Feather”.
A small new window should appear with one single, but necessary, parameter - in fact, the choice of the radius of our future blur. Here we try again and again and see what comes out. To start, let's say select 50 pixels. The required result is selected using the trial method.
Then we invert the selection using the key combination CTRL+SHIFT+I and press the DEL key to delete the excess. In order to see the result, you need to remove visibility from the layer with the original image.
Method number two
There is another option for blurring edges in Photoshop, and it is used much more often. Here we will work with convenient tool named “Quick Mask” - it’s easy to find almost at the very bottom of the program’s vertical panel on the left. You can, by the way, just press Q.
Then open the “Filter” on the toolbar, select the “Blur” line there, and then "Gaussian Blur".
The program opens a window in which we can easily and simply adjust the degree of blur. Actually, this is an advantage that is noticeable to the naked eye: you are not working here on a whim, going through options, but clearly and clearly defining the radius. Then just click "OK".
To see what we ended up with, we exit the mode quick mask(by clicking on the same button, or Q), then press simultaneously CTRL+SHIFT+I on the keyboard, and simply delete the selected area with the DEL button. The final step is to remove the unnecessary selection line by pressing CTRL+D.
As you can see, both options are very simple, but with their help you can easily blur the edges of an image in Photoshop.
An image in Photoshop can be shaded in several ways. This article will help explain what exactly shading is, where it is located, and will use an example to show how it can be done in Photoshop.
Feathering or Feather is a gradual dissolution of edges in the image. This softens the edges and creates a gradual and even transition to the bottom layer.
But it can only be available when working with a selection and a marked area!
Basic principles when working:
First, we designate the shading parameters, then create a selected area.
In this case, no obvious changes are visible, since in this way we indicated to the program that the two highlighted sides need to be dissolved.
We get rid of a certain part of the picture in the direction where the dissolution is supposed to take place. The result of such actions will be selective deletion certain pixels, while others will turn transparent.
First, we will determine the location of the shading and the methods for selecting it.
1. Components that are related to selection:
- a rectangular-shaped area;
- oval-shaped zone;
- zone in horizontal line;
- zone in a vertical line;
- lasso;
— magnetic lasso;
— lasso in the shape of a rectangle;
As an example, we take one tool from the list - Lasso. Let's look at the panel with characteristics. We select from among the detected settings, which will make it possible to set parameters for shading. In the remaining tools, the parameter is also in this form.
2. Menu "Selection"
If you select a certain area, then on the control panel we will have access to actions - "Selection - Modification", and further – "Shading".
What is the purpose of this action, if the panel with parameters already has enough different settings?
The whole answer is in in the right order actions. You need to think things through carefully before highlighting a specific part. It is necessary to determine the need to use shading and the parameters for its application.
If you don't think about these steps, and then change your preferences after creating the selection, you will no longer be able to apply the desired settings to it using the options panel.
This will be very inconvenient because you will not be able to determine the required dimensions.
Difficulties will also arise if you want to see the results in which you will use different quantity pixels, since this will require opening a new selected area each time, this process will be especially complicated when working with complex objects.
To simplify when working with such cases, using the command will help - “Selection - Modification - Feathering”. A dialog box will pop up, where you can enter a value, and the result will be obtained immediately after applying the function.
It is with the help of actions located in the menu, and not the settings that are on the parameters panel, that key combinations are indicated for the fastest access. In this case, you can see that the command will be available when using the keys - SHIFT+F6.
Now let's move on to the practical side of using shading. We begin to create the edges of the image with dissolution.
Stage 1
Opening the picture.
Stage 2
We look at the accessibility of the background layer and if the lock icon is turned on on the layers palette where the thumbnail is located, then the layer is locked. To activate it, double-click on the layer. A window will appear - « New Layer» , then press OK.
Stage 3
Create a layer selection around the perimeter of the image. This will help "Rectangular area". The selection frame is created indented from the edge.
Important
The Feather command will not be available when there is no image space visible on the right side of the selection or on the left side.
Stage 4
Let's take it “Selection - Modification - Feathering”. In the pop-up window you will need to specify a value in pixels to indicate the edge dissolution dimensions for the picture, for example, I used 50.
The selected corners are then rounded.
Stage 5
An important stage at which you need to determine what exactly you have already highlighted. If everything is correct, then the central part of the picture will be in the frame.
The next step involves removing unnecessary pixels. In this case, now the removal occurs in the center, but the opposite is necessary, for which it is provided - Inversion CTRL+SHIFT+I, which helps us with this.
Under the frame we will have the borders of the picture. Let's look at the change in the “marching ants”:
Stage 6
We begin removing the edges of the picture by pressing on the keyboard DELETE.
Important to know
If you hit delete more than once, then Photoshop will start covering more pixels as the delete effect stacks.
For example, I pressed delete three times.
CTRL+D will allow you to get rid of the frame for removal.
Feathering for sharp edges
Feathering will also help to smooth out sharp edges of the picture, which is very effective when working with collage.
The effect of unnatural differences in the edges of different objects becomes noticeable when adding new effects to the collage. As an example, let's look at the process of creating a small collage.
Stage 1
On the computer, create a folder into which we will download the sources - the texture, as well as animal clipart.
We create new document, for example, with a pixel size of 655 by 410.
Stage 2
We add the animal clipart to a new layer, for which we need to go to the folder created earlier. Click the right mouse button on the image with animals and select from the pop-up - Open with, then AdobePhotoshop.
Stage 3
Animals will be opened in a new tab in Photoshop. Then we move them to the previous tab - select the component "Move", drag the animals into the document that was created in advance.
After the workspace opens required document, without releasing the mouse button, drag the picture onto the canvas.
It should look like this:
Stage 4
The image will be large and will not fit entirely on the canvas. We take the team - « Free transformation» using CTRL+T. A frame will appear around the layer with animals, the required size for which can be selected by moving it around the corners. This will allow you to select exact size. Just keep it SHIFT, so as not to ruin the proportions in the image.
Important to remember
Large dimensions may not allow the frame to fit into a visible space in Photoshop. You need to reduce the scale for the document - CTRL+−.
Stage 5
This stage involves adding texture to the background, for which we perform stages 2 and 3 again.
A green texture will appear on top of the animal layer with huge parameters, just leave everything as it is and don’t try to make it smaller, because later we will simply move it.
Stage 6
Move the animal layer above the texture in the layers palette.
Now the shading process!
The process of adding contrast to the edges of the picture with animals on a green background deserves attention.
Background separation defect white will be visible immediately as you will notice a thin strip of white.
If you do not observe this defect, then the transition is completely unnatural from the animal’s fur to the environment.
In this case, we will need shading to make adjustments to the edges of the picture with animals. We make a slight blur, and then a smooth transition to the background.
Stage 7
Keep on your keyboard CTRL and click on the thumbnail where the layer is listed on the palette - this will help to select an area along the very contour of the layer.
Stage 8
CTRL+SHIFT+I- underscore will help to invert.
SHIFT+F6- enters the feathering size, for which we’ll take 3 pixels.
Delete- will help remove excess after applying shading. For better effect I pressed three times.
CTRL+D- will help remove excess secretion.
Now we will see a significant difference.
This way we have softened the edges of our collage.
Shading techniques will help you make your compositions more professional.
Good day everyone. my dear friends and guests of my blog. Today I would like to tell you how to smooth edges in Photoshop after cutting, because if you don’t do this, then these imperfections are too obvious, especially after an oval selection or a rectangular lasso.
Simple smoothing
Let's start, perhaps, with the very simple way. Open two images (where you will cut and where you will paste). In my case it will be the bride and the beach.
At the end, you can also do a little shading. To do this, again go to the menu “Selection” - “Modification”, but now select “Feathering”. Here you need to set the dimensions of the shading itself. But don't bet too much. See for yourself how much is enough for you. For example, 6 was enough for me, but someone may need 15. Experiment. You can always go back.
Edge refinement
Well, now the method is a little more complicated, but more effective. We have already encountered this function when . But today we will need it for simple smoothing.
As a result, we get a very nice image, without any corners or gaps. Everything is smooth and neat. This is what we wanted. Well, of course, you can do further processing of the image, but more on that in another article. But the most important thing is that you now know how to smooth the edges in Photoshop after cutting.
Well, this is where I will end my article for today. But if you still want to improve your knowledge of Photoshop or learn it from scratch, then I recommend that you watch these cool video tutorials. Everything is very well told accessible language and will be understandable to any level of user. The course is truly finger-licking good.
Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.