Work with blur

Use blur techniques in Photoshop to direct attention to a focal point or just enhance the look and feel of a shot

Blur can be the result of many things in photography – most often poor focusing or depthof‑field mistakes. Paradoxically, it can also be used as a creative tool at both the shooting and editing stages of the image-making process – after buying the best lenses you can afford to maximise control of depth-of-field, image quality and overall sharpness, it’s understandable that adding blur to images will feel counter-intuitive.

Applying blur effects in post-production is a great way to change the overall look and feel of perfectly sharp and well-focused images, as well as to mimic the effect of certain types of lenses that you may not be able to justify purchasing. With the exception of creating a shallow depth of field with a standard prime lens, which is incredibly difficult to replicate at all, let alone realistically, applying blur effects in Photoshop is quick and easy and it can deliver the perfect visual ‘polish’ for your photographs.

Create a soft glow 1

With the Background Layer selected and active, press Ctrl/ Cmd+J to duplicate the layer, then press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U to desaturate it. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set Radius to 30 before clicking OK. Next, set the Blending Mode to Overlay to add transparency to the layer, while increasing contrast at the same time. At this stage, you can control the overall effect by reducing Opacity or choosing the Soft Light Blending Mode for this layer.

Get the Lensbaby look 2

Press Ctrl/Cmd+J to duplicate the Background Layer, then select the Elliptical Marquee Tool. Hold down Shift as you drag a circle over the desired part of the image. Press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I to invert the selection. Press Shift+F6 to open Feather, and set Feather Radius to 500. Next, go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur and set Amount to 10, Blur Method to Zoom and Quality to Best before clicking OK. Finally, apply Gaussian Blur at a Radius of 10.

Apply a basic 3 Orton effect

Press Ctrl/Cmd+J to duplicate the Background Layer, then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set Radius to 40 before clicking OK. Reduce the layer Opacity to between 25 and 50, depending on how strong you’d like the effect to be. Click the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel, and select Levels. In the Levels window, drag the black point to 15 and the white point to 240 to increase contrast.

Replicate the 4 ‘toy town’ effect

Press Ctrl/Cmd+J to duplicate the Background Layer, then go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Tilt-Shift. When the guide appears, drag it to the desired potion by dragging the centre point. The middle section of the guide is where it will remain sharp, while the dashed outer lines can be moved to increase or decrease the graduation to blur. Set Blur to around 50 and click OK. There are lots of settings you can play with, but these basics work well.