How to Use Photoshop Blur for Retouching

Who among us hasn't taken a photo that needed a little TLC? Using Photoshop's Blur Tool, you can soften hard edges, blur a distracting background and help refocus on the eye on the central subject in your photo.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adobe Photoshop CS or higher

1. Open your photo in Photoshop and use the Magnifying Tool to enlarge the photo to 200 or 300 magnification. When working with Photoshop's retouching tools, the easier it is for you to see the target area, the easier your retouching job will be, especially when you're working around an element of the photo that you do not want to retouch.

2. Select the "Blur Tool" from the Toolbox. Blur is shaped like a tear drop and shares a fly-out menu with the "Sharpen Tool" and the "Smudge Tool."

3. Select the appropriate brush size from the "Brush" pull down menu on the "Options Bar" (located across the top of the screen). The small arrow in the corner of the brush palette allows you to choose the brush diameter and hardness.

4. Be aware that on the "Options Bar," to the right of the "Brush Palette" is a "Strength" slider that you can set to a percentage. The lower the percentage chosen, the less effect the Blur Tool will have.

5. Draw with the mouse over the area you want to blur. Using a low percentage on the "Strength" slider allows you greater control over the blur. You may have to blur over the same area several times (think of this as though you were applying ultra-light coats of paint) in order to get the desired effect.

Tips & Warnings

• The "Blur Tool" is particularly useful when you've taken a photo with a distracting background.
• Sometimes people confuse the "Blur Tool" and the "Smudge Tool." While the "Blur Too"l blurs the selected area, the "Smudge Tool" acts like finger paints by smudging all the colors together.