How can I avoid haloing when blurring the background in Photoshop?
Asked 1/26/2015
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2 answers
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I duplicated my image, masked the subject, and applied a strong blur to the background layer to simulate shallow depth of field. When I place the sharp subject over the blurred background, I get a visible fringe/halo around the subject because the blur spreads subject colors into nearby background pixels. Is there a better way to do this in Photoshop, or a filter/workflow that avoids the bleeding effect?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
3
Use the "Lens Blur" filter, which is basically a variable diameter blur function that a) avoids the effect of the focused object bleeding into the background and b) uses a more realistic kernel which more closely resembles an out of focus background.
You can select the area you want to remain sharp in advance, and then tell the filter how much the rest of the image should be blurred. Alternatively you can create a depth map which allows you to have more distant parts of the image even more blurred for the most realistic effect.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. The halo happens because you’re blurring a layer that still contains the subject, so its colors bleed outward before the mask is applied.
Two common fixes:
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Remove the subject from the background copy before blurring. Use the same selection/mask to cut the subject out of the duplicate layer, then blur that cleaned background and place the sharp subject above it.
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Use Photoshop’s Lens Blur filter instead of Blur Gallery tools. Lens Blur is better suited to simulating depth of field and is designed to avoid focused-object bleed into the blurred background. It can also use a selection or depth map for more realistic blur transitions.
So the key is: don’t blur background pixels that still contain the subject. Either erase/cut out the subject first, or switch to Lens Blur for a more natural result.
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