How to Blur the Background in a Photo

When you want the main subject of a photo to stand out, blurring the background is a great way to do it. By blurring the background, you can make the primary image more prominent and professional-looking. It helps the background to not distract the viewer’s attention.

“But how can I blur the background of a photo?”

There are a few methods you can use to make the background appear faded and draw focus to the foreground. Some techniques need to be applied before taking the photo, while others can be used afterwards.

Portrait, low-light, and macro-style photos all benefit from having a blurred background. The quality of the background blur is called bokeh. Bokeh depends on the type of background in the photo.

“What factors can create a blurred background?”

A good bokeh is created by having a background that enhances and highlights the main subject of the photo. For example, foliage or trees can produce low-light conditions and create a soft and rounded background.

A bad bokeh, on the other hand, has distractions in the background that take away from the focus of the subject. One of the main characteristics of a bad bokeh is an imbalance in lighting.

There are a few key factors that can significantly affect the blurriness of the background:

• Aperture – This is determined by the f-value or f-stops. Larger apertures have smaller f-values and allow more light to reach the camera sensor. When using a large aperture, the shutter speed should be faster to prevent overexposure. The lower the f-value, the softer the background blur.
• Subject Distance – Moving closer to and focusing tightly on your subject, while ensuring the background is far away, makes it easier to achieve a blurred background.
• Focal Length – A short focal length has a wide angle of view and keeps details in focus both in the foreground and background. Zooming in on a subject narrows the angle of view and increases the focal length, resulting in more background blur. To blur the background, use a long focal length lens or a lens with variable focus length and zoom in on your subject.
• Sensor Size – A small sensor has a short focal length and a wide angle of view. Cameras with larger sensors can achieve longer focal lengths and better background blur.

You can achieve a blurred background with any camera using the right techniques and settings. I will explain these settings and also provide an alternative method for adding a blurred background after taking the photo.

How to Blur the Background of a Photo

The key to creating a natural blurring effect in your photos is depth of field. You can achieve this by using a wide aperture and getting close to or zooming in on your subject. This creates a shallow depth of field, also known as shallow focus or selective focus.

DSLR lenses allow you to adjust settings to achieve the desired depth of field in manual and semi-automatic modes. DSLR and high-end point-and-shoot cameras also have macro and close-up settings that automatically create a shallow depth of field.

The macro settings on your digital camera preselect a wide aperture and fast shutter speed, which automatically produces a blurred background. Super macro settings allow you to get even closer to your subject, within a few millimeters.

Make sure there is enough light for the shoot and keep the camera steady to avoid unintended shadows. If your camera or lens does not have built-in image stabilization, using a tripod can be helpful.

It is more challenging to achieve a shallow depth of field with a camera that doesn’t have a macro setting or adjustable aperture and shutter speed.

dSLR Lenses

Most consumer-grade dSLR cameras come with kit lenses that have small apertures, usually ranging from f4 to f8. If you zoom in and keep the focus closer to you while the background remains farther away, you can achieve a blurred background.

This method produces an acceptable blur effect, but it may not look as professional. To achieve a better blur effect, consider purchasing a lens with a larger aperture. More affordable dSLR models often come with a 50mm lens and an aperture of f1.8.

Keep in mind that different lenses will give you different results. Lenses with strong zoom capabilities are best used when the subject of the image is farther from the background than you are from the subject. This will result in a moderate background blur effect.

Lenses with fixed apertures (low f-value) use the same shutter speeds and ISO settings regardless of the distance. On the other hand, with a variable aperture lens, you’ll want to decrease the shutter speed and increase the ISO to ensure the photo is properly exposed.

To achieve the best-blurred background results, use either the A or AV aperture priority mode.

Aperture Priority Mode

Most cameras offer an aperture priority mode, which is a semi-automatic mode that selects the appropriate shutter speed and ISO settings based on the chosen aperture. To increase the background blur in a photo, select the smallest f-value possible or a wide aperture.

1. Select the aperture priority mode (A or AV) from your camera’s menu.
2. Make sure the focus of your image is closer to you than the background.
3. Zoom in until you have a fixed position on your subject. The background will blur.
4. Take the photo.

Portrait Photo

Aperture priority mode is particularly useful for portrait photos. You can remove distracting elements by focusing on the subject. Here are the steps to create a portrait photo with a blurred background:

1. Select the aperture priority mode (A or AV) from your camera’s menu. In some cases, you can also use manual mode (M). Choose the mode depending on the subject of the photo. Aperture priority mode is better for moving subjects as it adjusts the shutter speed and ISO automatically for proper exposure.
2. Select the smallest available f-value.
3. Ensure the focus of your image is closer to you than the background.
4. Zoom in until you have a fixed position on your subject. The background will blur. When using manual mode, you might need to increase the ISO setting and decrease the shutter speed.
5. Take the photo.

If you don’t have a camera with adjustable settings or you prefer to add a blurred background after taking the photo, you can use a post-processing service like PicMonkey.

Use a Post-Process Service Like PicMonkey

Post-processing photo services like PicMonkey have specialized tools that can help you achieve the perfect amount of blur for a beautiful image. You can blur landscapes or soften the background to make the subject stand out. PicMonkey is an excellent resource for this.

Let’s go over a few ways to achieve your desired results.

One-Click Photo Softening

With PicMonkey’s Soften effect, you can easily add a subtle blur to any image with just one click. The entire image gets a blur effect, but you can also target specific areas using the Erase & Brush palette. Sliders are available to adjust the strength of the blur.

To achieve targeted blurriness and avoid blurring the entire image:

1. Open your image in the PicMonkey editor and select the layer you want to soften.
2. Go to the “Effects” tab, click on “Basic,” choose “Soften,” and click on the Paintbrush icon. You can choose a different blurring effect if you prefer.
3. In the Erase & Brush palette, click on the paintbrush tab.
4. You can now choose to blur small portions of the image, the main focus, or the entire background. The choice is yours. The Reverse effect tool is useful if you want to blur out the entire background. Just blur the focus of the image and then click the Reverse effect to make the background fade and the subject stand out. If you blur too much or want to undo the blur, click “Original” and use the eraser to remove excessive blur.
5. Once you’re satisfied with your edits, click “Apply.”

Bokeh Effects

PicMonkey allows you to apply bokeh effects directly to your photos and provides many customization options. You can use bokeh effect textures to create stunning images.

To use the Bokeh Textures:

1. Go to the “Textures” tab and select the “Bokeh” category. This category offers six different blur options.
2. You can adjust the size (make the effect larger or smaller), saturation, fade (transparency), and specify certain areas for the bokeh texture using the Erase & Brush palette.
3. Remember to click “Apply” when you’re done.

Artsy Effect With Orton

The Orton technique creates a saturated color and dreamy softness by layering two exposures of the same photo: a sharp original and a slightly out-of-focus copy. PicMonkey’s digital version does all of this in a single click.

Orton has several sliders you can use to add glamour to your photos. The Bloom slider adjusts the level of blurriness, the Brightness slider controls the lighting, and the Fade slider adjusts the transparency for a more defined image.

Just like with the Soften and Bokeh texture effects, you can also paint Orton into your image using the Erase & Brush palette.

Focus Tools

If you want to use blur to sharpen the focus of the subject, PicMonkey’s focus tools can help.

The Focal B&W effect turns a part of your image black and white while keeping the rest in color. The Reverse effect lets you keep the focus in color and make the background black and white.

The Focal Soften effect blurs everything outside the focal size. You can use the Reverse effect to switch things up if desired.

The Fancy Focus effect focuses on a specified part of the picture while making the background blurry with added “fanciness.”

The Focal Zoom effect creates an action-filled blur for on-the-go style photos.

PicMonkey ‘Blur On-the-Go’

PicMonkey also offers a free mobile app that allows you to capture a blurry photo on the go.

To use the app for its blur effects:

1. Launch the app on your mobile device.
2. Tap on “Edit,” “Adjust,” and then “Blur.”

The blur effect adds softness to your image. You can move the focal target and adjust the slider until you’re happy with the picture. The Soften effect, located in the Effects section, allows you to apply the same blur options as in the browser version. You can choose to blur the entire image or specific points. Apply the effect carefully.

With these techniques and tools, you can easily blur the background of your photos and create stunning images. Whether you use a camera with adjustable settings or a post-processing service like PicMonkey, have fun experimenting and capturing the perfect shot!