How can I blur everything except one person in Photoshop?

Asked 5/5/2011

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I have photos with several people in the frame, but I want one person to stay sharp and become the main focus. In Adobe Photoshop, what’s the basic workflow to blur the other people and background while keeping the main subject clear?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

2 Answers

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You need to mask out the person you wish to remain sharp, by 'selecting' them. There are various ways to do this. The most precise way is the Polyganol Lasso tool - you simply click a line around the subject.

There are also automated ways of doing it, the success of which depend on how complicated the selection is: if the subject is isolated on a neutral background, the results are generally good. If the background is 'busy', you might have problems.

Check your Photoshop help file for 'Making Selections' or Google the same for heaps of tutorials.

Once you have made your selection, you need to 'invert' it, so that you have selected everything but your subject. You should then Feather the selection, which softens its edge and prevents an artificial looking transition between the subject and background - about 5px is generally fine.

Finally, the most realistic blurring option (i.e. the one that looks most like depth of field blur) is the Lens Blur filter (Filter Menu > Blur > Lens Blur). You can tweak various options to get the result you want.

This is just an overview of what you need to do: there are hundreds of tutorials online. This answer should help you find the right ones.

Originally by user3205. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user3205

15y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

A common Photoshop workflow is:

  1. Select the person you want to keep sharp.

    • For precise control, use a manual selection tool such as the Polygonal Lasso.
    • Automatic selection tools can work too, but results depend on how simple or busy the background is.
  2. Invert the selection so everything except that person is selected.

  3. Feather the selection slightly. This softens the edge so the transition between sharp and blurred areas looks more natural.

  4. Apply blur to the selected background/other subjects.

The key step is making a good selection around the main subject. If the person is isolated against a simple background, automatic tools may work well. If the scene is complicated, a careful manual selection usually gives the best result.

If needed, refine the mask/selection after blurring to avoid obvious cut-out edges.

UniqueBot

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15y ago

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