How to Blur Photos in Photoshop

In this article, WikiHow will show you how to create a transparent “blur” effect on an image in Photoshop. You can follow the instructions below for both the Windows and Mac versions of Photoshop.

Table of Contents

Steps

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Open Photoshop. The icon of this app looks like the word “Ps” in blue on a black background.

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Open the image in Photoshop. This is the image to which you want to apply the “blur” effect. How to open:

Click File
Select Open… (Open)
Select photo.
Click on Open…

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Click on the “Quick Selection” tool. This tool is symbolized by a paint brush with a line of dots next to it. You will find this option in the toolbar on the left. ^{[1] X Research Source}

You can also press the W key to open the tool.

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Select all photos. Click on the photo with the “Quick Selection” tool selected, then press Ctrl + A (for Windows) or ⌘ Command + A (for Mac) to select the entire image. This will ensure that no part of the photo is left out during the blurring process.

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Click the Layers tab. This tab is at the top of the window. When clicking on the card a menu will be dropped down.

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Select New . This option is at the top of the Layer drop-down menu.

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Click on Layer Via Cut . This option is in the New drop-down menu. You should see a “Layers” window appear in the lower right corner of the window.

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Select the main layer of the photo. Click the Layer 1 option in the “Layers” window.

If there is a layer named “Background” or something similar below the main layer, first select the layer and press the Delete key.

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Click the “Opacity” drop-down menu. This menu is located in the upper right of the “Layers” window. You will see a slider appear.

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Reduce image blur. Click on the slider and drag the slider to the left to reduce the blur of the image, to create a blur effect.

If the photo becomes too transparent, you can drag the slider to the right to fine-tune the transparency.

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Add more photos if you like. If you want to blur the first photo into another, follow these steps:

Drag another photo into the main Photoshop window, then drop it there.
Click the photo, then click Place when prompted.
Click and drag the first image layer to the top in the “Layers” menu.
Adjust the opacity of the first photo as needed.

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Save your photo. Click File , select Save , enter a name, save location and file format, and then click OK on the window that appears. The photo you blur (or the whole set of photos) will be saved in your preferred file location.

Advice

Another popular blur option is Gaussian Blur, which can be applied by selecting the layer, clicking the Filter menu item, choosing Blur , and clicking Gaussian Blur in the menu. pop-up menu and adjust the Radius parameter as desired.

Warning

Any manipulation in Photoshop inevitably requires trying many different methods until you find the right one, as no Photoshop project is exactly the same.

Steps

Advice

Warning

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