Blur the borders of an image in Photoshop. Blurred edges in Photoshop: learning to shade the edges of a photo

Good day everyone. my dear friends and guests of my blog. Today I would like to tell you how to smooth edges in Photoshop after cutting, because if you don’t do this, then these imperfections are too obvious, especially after an oval selection or a rectangular lasso.

Simple smoothing

We will start, perhaps, with the simplest method. Open two images (where you will cut and where you will paste). In my case it will be the bride and the beach.

At the end, you can also do a little shading. To do this, again go to the menu “Selection” - “Modification”, but now select “Feathering”. Here you need to set the dimensions of the shading itself. But don't bet too much. See for yourself how much is enough for you. For example, 6 was enough for me, but someone may need 15. Experiment. You can always go back.

Edge refinement

Well, now the method is a little more complicated, but more effective. We have already encountered this function when . But today we will need it for simple smoothing.

As a result, we get a very nice image, without any corners or gaps. Everything is smooth and neat. This is what we wanted. Well, of course, you can do further processing of the image, but more on that in another article. But the most important thing is that you now know how to smooth the edges in Photoshop after cutting.

Well, this is where I will end my article for today. But if you still want to improve your knowledge of Photoshop or learn it from scratch, then I recommend that you watch these cool video tutorials. Everything is told in a very accessible language and will be understandable to any level of user. The course is truly finger-licking good.

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.

In our age of technology, when every person has access to various equipment, all kinds of devices, taking a photograph is not a problem at all. This can be either a quick photo, without focusing on quality, or professional shooting, when every centimeter of the photo is studied and, if necessary, corrected. Fortunately, along with the ability to photograph, there is wide access today and those that are directly involved in image processing. As you know, one of the most popular applications of this type is Adobe Photoshop. Using this program, you can easily achieve all sorts of effects that will make the quality of the photo higher than it is.

There are several ways to perform this action, and now we will look at them one by one. Let's start with the simplest method:

1. Open the required image in Photoshop and determine the area that you ultimately want to see blurred.
2. Do not forget that we are not working with the original image; create an additional layer so that in case of failure you do not spoil the source.
3. Now let’s get started with the process: in the left vertical panel in Photoshop, right-click on the “Quick Selection” tool and select “Oval Area” there.
4. Using this tool, select an area in the photo that you want to remain untouched, say, the face.
5. Open the “Selection” section, line “Modification” – “Feather”. After this, a new window will appear in front of you with one single parameter - selecting the blur radius. However, you cannot know the exact number of pixels, so here you need to use a trial method. Try starting with a value of 50 pixels and see what happens.

Method two

There is another way to create blurred edges in Photoshop, for many it is preferable and more convenient than the first. In this case, the “Quick Mask” tool is used, which can be found almost at the very bottom of the vertical panel of the program, on the left side. By the way, there is an alternative option to get into quick mask mode: press the letter Q on your keyboard.

After that, open the “Filter” section in the toolbar and select the “Blur” line there. A window will open in which, using the slider, you can adjust the degree of blurring of the edges. Thus, you can see the advantage of this method over the first: here you are not acting on a whim, but clearly see what the radius should be set to. Click OK.

Now, to see the result of your work, select the ++l keys on your keyboard at the same time. Next, delete the selected area using the button. And lastly, we get rid of the running line by pressing +D.

As you can see, the methods are not at all complicated, but they provide an effect such as blurring edges in Photoshop.

Photographers put a lot of effort into achieving high-quality images. However, the blur of a photo also plays an important role in photography. For example, the blurred background effect allows you to pay more attention to the main subject rather than the background. The movement of the camera when shooting creates the illusion of movement, and by changing the focus to other objects, you will be able to highlight some details of the photo separately from others.

Blurring a photo directly while shooting requires a lot of skill and there is a high probability of ruining the photo altogether.

Therefore, it would be much more correct to do these effects after shooting in Photoshop. The latest version of Adobe Photoshop CC has some interesting new blur tools, but in this article, I won't go into detail about each of them. I'll tell you about the basic techniques that are used when processing photographs.

Most often, the blur effect is used specifically for the background of a photograph. Blurring the background allows you to highlight the main subject, hide unnecessary details and create more space in the photo.

Unlike other types of blur, it is best to do this when shooting, setting the aperture to the maximum open in the settings and focusing on the main subject.

To blur a background separately from the main subject in Photoshop, you need to select it. This can be done before or after blurring.

Depending on the complexity of the subject, its shape, contrast in relation to the background, you need to select the most suitable lasso tool and select the main object of the photograph. Details about selection methods and choosing the appropriate tool are described in detail in

When the main subject is selected, copy it to a separate layer - Layer/New/Copy to new layer...(CTRL+J).

Many people use Gaussian Blur in this situation, but it gives the wrong result. If you want to get an effect close to a real photograph with an open aperture, then you need to use - Filter/Blur/Shallow DoF Blur...

Unfortunately, almost always an unattractive glow appears around the object, which can only be removed manually using the Stamp or Healing Brush tools. As shown in the image below, you need to sketch the main subject on a blurry layer.

Blur Tool

For parts of a photo or individual details of a photo, it is better to use the Blur Tool. It works like a regular brush, which has its own pressure force. It is enough to apply a stroke with this brush and the object will lose clarity.

The Blur Tool is suitable for, for example, quickly blurring uneven skin.

This technique allows you to blur the edges of the image or fill them with the overall tone of the image.

If the frame has hard edges and a large blur radius, it can serve in place of a regular photo frame. A smooth flow, as in the image below, allows you to draw more attention to the center and smooth out unnecessary details.

Make a duplicate of the layer so you can revert in case of an error. Select an area with the Rectangular Lasso Tool, as shown in the screenshot below. Invert the selection - Select/Invert...(CTRL+SHIFT+I).

Right-click on the selection area and select "Feather..." Depending on the size of your photo, set the feather in pixels (about 50-150 pixels). This is the distance to which the blur will extend from the selection border.

It all depends on the style of photography. Sometimes, you don't need to set Feather values. Your frame will be more visible and have crisp edges.

Now, go to - Filter/Blur/Gaussian Blur... Set the desired value. A large radius value creates a slight shading with the overall background color.

There are photographs in which the blur needs to be done in a different shape than a rectangular one. To do this, area and apply the filter described above.

The right blur effect will help you create the illusion of something moving in a photo.

For example, the Motion Blur filter blurs the photo, similar to direct camera movement when shooting. This effect is always used in photographs of moving cars, trains, and airplanes.

The bison in the photo appears to be running forward thanks to the application to the background - Filter/Blur/Motion Blur...

The settings specify the angle and degree of displacement. Of course, before this you need to select the background so that the main subject is not blurred either.

The Circular Blur filter creates the effect of the camera rotating when shooting. Can be used in photographs with rotating objects.

The ring method imitates the rotation of an object, and the linear method imitates its sharp approach.

To prevent text from getting lost in a photograph, many different techniques are used to create contrast with the background. Perhaps one of the best is to blur part of the photo so that small contrasting details do not interrupt the text.

Often this blur is done by smoothly flowing from a clear image into a uniform tone. The inscription on such a blurred background is perceived as integral with the photograph.

Select an area with any lasso tool and set the Feather.

As shown in the picture below, the text against such a background is clearly readable and perceived as one with the photograph.

If you need to hide facial features in a photo, hide a car license plate, or remove the recognition of something, use - Filter/Appearance/Mosaic...

This technique covers areas with a mosaic with a large grain so that the details are not recognizable.

If required, use retouching tools such as Stamp or Healing Brush.

VIDEO LESSON: Blur in Photoshop

You can express your gratitude for the lesson in the comments to this article.

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An image in Photoshop can be shaded in several ways. This article will help explain what exactly shading is, where it is located, and will use an example to show how it can be done in the Photoshop application.

Feathering or Feather is a gradual dissolution of edges in the image. This softens the edges and creates a gradual and even transition to the bottom layer.

But it can only be available when working with a selection and a marked area!

Basic principles when working:

First, we designate the shading parameters, then create a selected area.

In this case, no obvious changes are visible, since in this way we indicated to the program that the two highlighted sides need to be dissolved.

We get rid of a certain part of the picture in the direction where the dissolution is supposed to take place. The result of such actions will be the selective removal of certain pixels, and others will turn transparent.
First, we will determine the location of the shading and the methods for selecting it.

1. Components that are relevant to the selection:

- a rectangular-shaped area;
- oval-shaped zone;
- zone in horizontal line;
— zone in a vertical line;

- lasso;
— magnetic lasso;
— lasso in the shape of a rectangle;

As an example, we take one tool from the list - Lasso. Let's look at the panel with characteristics. We select from among the detected settings, which will make it possible to set parameters for shading. In the remaining tools, the parameter is also in this form.

2. Menu "Selection"

If you select a certain area, then on the control panel we will have access to actions - "Selection - Modification", and further – "Shading".

What is the purpose of this action, if the panel with parameters already has enough different settings?

The entire answer is in the correct order of actions. You need to think things through carefully before highlighting a specific part. It is necessary to determine the need to use shading and the parameters for its application.

If you don't think about these steps, and then change your preferences after creating the selection, you will no longer be able to apply the desired settings to it using the options panel.

This will be very inconvenient because you will not be able to determine the required dimensions.

It will also be difficult if you want to view results that use a different number of pixels, since you will have to open a new selection each time, a process that will become especially difficult when working with complex objects.

To simplify when working with such cases, using the command will help - “Selection - Modification - Feathering”. A dialog box will pop up, where you can enter a value, and the result will be obtained immediately after applying the function.

It is with the help of the actions located in the menu, and not the settings that are on the parameters panel, that the key combinations are indicated for the fastest access. In this case, you can see that the command will be available when using the keys - SHIFT+F6.

Now let's move on to the practical side of using shading. We begin to create the edges of the image with dissolution.

Stage 1

Opening the picture.

Stage 2

We look at the accessibility of the background layer and if the lock icon is turned on on the layers palette where the thumbnail is located, then the layer is locked. To activate it, double-click on the layer. A window will appear - "New Layer", then press OK.

Stage 3

Create a layer selection around the perimeter of the image. This will help "Rectangular area". The selection frame is created indented from the edge.

Important
The Feather command will not be available when there is no image space visible on the right side of the selection or on the left side.

Stage 4

Let's take it “Selection - Modification - Feathering”. In the pop-up window you will need to specify a value in pixels to indicate the edge dissolution dimensions for the picture, for example, I used 50.

The selected corners are then rounded.

Stage 5

An important stage at which you need to determine what exactly you have already highlighted. If everything is correct, then the central part of the picture will be in the frame.

The next step involves removing unnecessary pixels. In this case, now the removal occurs in the center, but the opposite is necessary, for which it is provided - Inversion CTRL+SHIFT+I, which helps us with this.

Under the frame we will have the borders of the picture. Let's look at the change in the “marching ants”:

Stage 6

We begin removing the edges of the picture by pressing on the keyboard DELETE.

It is important to know
If you hit delete more than once, then Photoshop will start covering more pixels as the delete effect stacks.

For example, I pressed delete three times.

CTRL+D will allow you to get rid of the frame for removal.

Feathering for sharp edges

Feathering will also help to smooth out the sharp edges of the picture, which is very effective when working with a collage.

The effect of unnatural differences in the edges of different objects becomes noticeable when adding new effects to the collage. As an example, let's look at the process of creating a small collage.

Stage 1

On the computer, create a folder into which we will download the sources - the texture, as well as animal clipart.
Create a new document, for example, with a size in pixels of 655 by 410.

Stage 2

We add the animal clipart to a new layer, for which we need to go to the folder created earlier. Click the right mouse button on the image with animals and select from the pop-up - To open with, then AdobePhotoshop.

Stage 3

Animals will be opened in a new tab in Photoshop. Then we move them to the previous tab - select the component "Move", drag the animals into the document that was created in advance.

After the desired document opens in the workspace, without releasing the mouse button, drag the picture onto the canvas.

It should look like this:

Stage 4

The image will be large and will not fit entirely on the canvas. We take the team - "Free Transform" using CTRL+T. A frame will appear around the layer with animals, the required size for which can be selected by moving it around the corners. This will allow you to choose the exact size. Just keep it SHIFT, so as not to ruin the proportions in the image.

Important to remember
Large dimensions may not allow the frame to fit into a visible space in Photoshop. You need to reduce the scale for the document - CTRL+−.

Stage 5

This stage involves adding texture to the background, for which we perform stages 2 and 3 again.
A green texture will appear on top of the animal layer with huge parameters, just leave everything as it is and don’t try to make it smaller, because later we will simply move it.

Stage 6

Move the animal layer above the texture in the layers palette.

Now the shading process!

The process of adding contrast to the edges of the picture with animals on a green background deserves attention.

The defect of white separation from the background will be immediately visible as you will notice a thin strip of white.

If you do not observe this defect, then the transition is completely unnatural from the animal’s fur to the environment.

In this case, we will need shading to make adjustments to the edges of the picture with animals. We make a slight blur, and then a smooth transition to the background.

Stage 7

Keep it on your keyboard CTRL and click on the thumbnail where the layer is listed on the palette - this will help to select an area along the very contour of the layer.

Stage 8

CTRL+SHIFT+I- underscore will help to invert.

SHIFT+F6- enters the feathering size, for which we’ll take 3 pixels.

Delete- will help remove excess after applying shading. For better effect I pressed three times.

CTRL+D- will help remove excess secretion.

Now we will see a significant difference.

This way we have softened the edges of our collage.

Shading techniques will help you make your compositions more professional.

Good day to you, my dear friends. Christ is risen! How are you doing? How are you feeling? I have an excellent one! Feels like May. But let's move on to the article. Previously, I periodically saw a very interesting effect in photographs, when the edges are a little blurred, but the photo itself remains untouched. That's why I also decided to do the same effect on some of the images.

And today I will show you how to make blurry edges in Photoshop. And I will experiment on the old Spider-Man from the film of the same name. You can, of course, select the Blur tool and simply paint over the edges of the image. But in my opinion this method is not very good, so I will use others.

This is how we blurred the edges of the image. And it took us no more than a minute. But as you can see, the blur has clear boundaries. Some people like to leave it that way, while others prefer a smooth transition.

Advice: In fact, you don't have to make two selections with Alt held down. You can make one selection only in the place where the blur will go. And after that you need to invert the selection. To do this, press the key combination SHIFT+CTRL+I or select the menu “Selection” - “Inversion”. Then you will automatically have a selected frame.

Smooth blur

In order for us to have a smooth transition, we need to complete the first two points from the previous method, but then the course will change a little.

note ! The size of the Gaussian blur and feather radius depends on the size of the image itself. Here I was focusing on this particular size. Experiment.

Other Blur Methods

You don't have to use a Gaussian filter, there are many other blur filters. Let me show you another example, and then you can try it yourself.

I think it turned out great. The picture became more interesting. You can see for yourself other filters from the same group and see how they work and what effects they give.

Well, that seems to be all I wanted to tell you about it. Yes. This is a small and simple lesson.) But if you want to master Photoshop completely, then I strongly recommend that you fully study one cool video course. Thanks to it, you will be able to learn Photoshop in the shortest possible time, unless of course you are lazy.

Well, I'm done for today. I look forward to your comments on the topic. And by the way, be sure to subscribe to blog updates, then you will always know about the release of new articles on the topics you need. I also advise you to take a look at the blog, as there are a lot of articles and you will probably find something interesting for yourself. Good luck to you. Bye bye!

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.