How to Blur a Background and Create Depth of Field in Photoshop

▶ Download the sample images for this tutorial (free with a PHLEARN account): phlearn.com/tutorial/blurred-background/

Want that dreamy, out-of-focus background without switching lenses? Learn how to fake a shallow depth of field in Photoshop, blurring your background beautifully while keeping your subject perfectly sharp.

Aaron shows why blurring the whole image creates an ugly halo around your subject, then walks through the fix: cutting your subject out with the Pen tool, removing them from a separate blur layer with the Spot Healing Brush, and applying a graduated Tilt-Shift blur before blending fine hair detail back in.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Creating a Blurred Background Overview
01:22 Testing a Basic Gaussian Blur
02:46 Tracing Your Subject With the Pen Tool
05:05 Naming and Organizing Your Layers
06:37 Removing Subjects With Spot Healing Brush
08:27 Applying the Tilt-Shift Blur Gallery
11:04 Restoring Hair Detail and Edge Blur
13:33 Before and After Results

THE STEPS
1. Duplicate your background layer and test a regular Gaussian blur to see why blurring the whole image creates a halo around your subject
2. Use the Pen tool to trace carefully around your subject, then load that path as a selection to create a clean layer mask
3. Duplicate your background twice, naming one layer "original" and one "blur," so you have a subject layer and a background layer to work with
4. Use the Spot Healing Brush to paint your subject out of the blur layer entirely, so it doesn't contribute to the halo
5. Convert the blur layer to a Smart Object, then apply the Tilt-Shift Blur filter with about 20% grain for a realistic, graduated blur
6. Duplicate your original layer, set it to Lighten blend mode, then mask in fine hair detail on top of the blurred background
7. Unlink your layer mask and use the Blur tool to soften the edge around your subject for a seamless, realistic result

Get the full step by step breakdown here: phlearn.com/tutorial/blurred-background/

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