Photography,  photos & notes

9 Tips for a Blur Background on Photos


Discover 9 useful tips for a beautiful blur background on photos and appreciate the subject’s beauty without losing focus on meaningless details. The background in a picture is important and it defines the quality of it. Close-up and portrait snapshots usually have a large depth of field while the photo’s main subject is lost in the background.

9 Tips for a Blur Background on Photos

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9 Tips for a Blur Background on Photos

Blurring the background of a photo can make your subject stand out helping the storytelling of your work! Here are a few methods you can use, depending on the tools you have available:

photo by Rishabh Sagar via unsplash.com
photo by Rishabh Sagar via unsplash.com

Using a camera

If you have a DSLR or a smartphone with a good camera, to naturally blur the background while taking the photo, you can follow these four basic key steps:

  • Stay close to your subject. Your subject should fill most of your photo frame.
  • Check the distance between your subject and the background. It must be bigger than the distance between you and your subject.
  • Zoom in and focus on your subject to narrow the depth of field. 
  • Adjust your camera’s f-stop in low numbers under f/8 (8, 7.1, 6.3, 5.6, etc.) for a wide aperture.
photo by Lerone Pieters via unsplash.com
photo by Lerone Pieters via unsplash.com

With Online Tools

If you have photos that you want to blur their background, you can easily do it by using online tools like Canva and Adobe Express.

  • In Canva, you can upload your image to Canva and use the “Auto Focus” tool for an automatic blur background. Download your edited image.
  • In Adobe Express, upload your photo and use the “Remove Background” tool to isolate your subject. Then apply the blur effect to the background.
photo by Jamie Street via unsplash.com
photo by Jamie Street via unsplash.com

Using Software

  • In Photoshop duplicate your image layer and use the “Select Subject” tool to isolate your subject.
  • In Mobile Apps like Snapseed or Lightroom that have background blur features, look for tools like “Lens Blur” or “Portrait Mode” to achieve the effect.
photo JESUS ECA by via unsplash.com
photo JESUS ECA by via unsplash.com

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Other Aspects to Care of

Whether you photograph a person, an animal, or just something in nature, the more blurry background you succeed in, the better your photos look by isolating your subject. Yet, there are other aspects to take care of. The angle you choose, the light you have, etc. are important, too. So, experiment with all these factors to succeed in creating the image of your desire. As the Hungarian artist, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy wrote,

The enemy of photography is the convention, the fixed rules of ‘how to do’.

The salvation of photography comes from the experiment.”

photo by Andy Holmes via unsplash.com
photo by Andy Holmes via unsplash.com

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