How do I

[bonniejo]

How do I blur a background? I have messed with my photoshop forever and still can't figure it out......must be blond. :D Like with this picture
http://bonniejo.smugmug.com/photos/141425956-M.jpg


Any help?
Thx!

[Sam]

Actually it's pretty easy. The main thing you need to do is separate the people from the rest of the image.

There are a variety of ways to select. I created a second layer then masked off the people. Then I was able to work on the background with out effect on the background (Ok there is a minimal amount, because I did this very quickly, and also because I like a soft edge to the effect).

The key here is once you have them separated you’re free to do anything you want.

Sam

[RogersDA]

In addition to Sam's suggestion there is also another way.

Open image.

Make the background a layer (Layer - New Layer from Background)

Duplicate this layer (Layer - Duplicate Layer)

On the duplicate layer apply a blur. (Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur). Adjust to taste. Here you can add any filter affect or combintation of filter affects, not just a blur. Experiement and see what you like.

On the duplicate layer apply a hide all mask (Layer - Layer Mask - Hide All). Notice that the image is not blurry anymore.

Select the brush tool. Set the foreground color as white.

Paint the areas of the duplicate layer that you want to have blurry. In your case the background. Set the size of your paint brush to get around the finer details such as the hair. That may also require a softer brush and/or setting the brush opacity down a lot (30% - 50%) so that hair will still show, but the background becomes blurry.


http://darphotos.smugmug.com/photos/141457404-L.jpg

[RogersDA]

By playing some with that duplicate layer you can get some cool effects going.

http://darphotos.smugmug.com/photos/141479965-L.jpg

[Sam]

Good tip David!

Thanks,

Sam

[bonniejo]

Oh awesome!!!! Thank you!! I'll have lots to do now.:D You guys are great.

[RogersDA]

Oh awesome!!!! Thank you!! I'll have lots to do now.:D You guys are great.

Just FYI. On that second image I applied a circular motion blur. Why did I do that? Well, I wanted to get some of the colors from the shirts to blur into the overall background. Why did I want that? Well, a very blurry backgound as in my first example looks fake. It does not look like a background drop that you might see in a studio. So, I wanted to add something that makes the background look more appealing. I added a second filter to the background. This time it was a square water ripple filter. This texture gives the appearance of a wall, and the colors from the shirts that were blurred form a nice reflection on the "ripples". So it looks like a reflective surface.

I also cleaned up the skin a bit and the reflections in the eyeglasses some.

Holler if you want more help.:barb

[RogersDA]

And here's the same thing having passed it though i2e (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=51034):

http://darphotos.smugmug.com/photos/141875312-L.jpg