How to Obscure Faces in Photoshop
If you work in the media and deal with the legal or courtesy issues of protecting the identity of certain photo subjects, you may need to obscure faces from time to time. Photoshop makes obscuring a face relatively simple: all you need is a basic knowledge of Layers and Filters.
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Instructions
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Open the picture in Photoshop. Navigate to the "Layer" drop-down menu at the top of the screen and select "Duplicate Layer." This will give the picture two layers of the same image.
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In the Layers panel to the right of the screen, click the eyeball icon next to the bottom layer on the list, so that the eye disappears. Select the top layer.
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Click on the "Eraser" icon on the toolbar at the left of the screen -- the icon looks like a real-world rectangle eraser. Click and hold on the left mouse button as you drag the pointer across the image, until nothing is left but the face you want to obscure.
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Select "Filter" from the menu bar and click on "Blur Filters." A filters menu pops up. Select "Gaussian Blur." Adjust the intensity of the blur with the slider bar until the face is unrecognizable. Close out of the menu.
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In the Layers panel to the right of the screen, click in the box next to the hidden layer to reveal it. Click "Layer" in the menu bar and select "Flatten Image." Click the "File" drop-down menu and select "Save Image."
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Tips & Warnings
If you wish to manipulate the layers of the image later, save the image as a PSD file before you flatten. If you wish to use the image on the web, save it as a JPEG.
