So you see a really cool photo with this neat blur thing happening, but the main focus of the picture is crystal clear. How do they do that? Well, here’s how:
Open a picture. My sister just had her second child, so she’ll continue to flood this blog with her beautiful presence.
1. Create a duplicate layer of background (main layer) – Go to Layer > Duplicate layer > OK.
2. You’re adding to add the blur affect to this duplicate later: Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur — set the blur to whatever amount you want the blurriest part of the picture to look like.
3. With that blurred layer still selected, add a layer mask. You can do this by either clicking on the icon in the layers pallet that looks like a front loading washing machine, or go to Layer > Layer Mask > reveal all. This adds a mask filled with white.
4. With that mask selected, use the gradient tool in the tools pallet. Set the tool to black to white or transparent. You can use a color mask, but it will make semitransparent masks. Remember: Black conceals, white reveals. Using the gradient tool, draw a line anywhere on the picture. You’ll notice that the blur changes depending on where you draw your line, what angle you draw it at, and how long or short it is. Apple+Z undoes your move so you can click around a million times until it looks just right to you.
I didn’t go crazy with the blur, but you can see it in the hands and border around the baby’s feet.
*This tutorial written with special thanks to the Lovely and Gracious.
