Overview of adding blur to images

Blurring changes how sharpness is perceived in an image. You can use blur to smooth distracting details, draw attention to a subject, or create artistic effects such as motion or shallow depth of field.

Types of blur effects

Photoshop offers several ways to apply blur, depending on your creative or corrective needs:

• Blur Gallery: Interactive, on-canvas tools like Field Blur, Iris Blur, and Tilt-Shift that let you apply blur selectively and control it visually.
• Lens Blur: Simulates the depth-of-field and bokeh of real camera lenses for realistic results.
• Traditional blur filters: Found under Filter > Blur, including options like Gaussian Blur and Motion Blur.
• Blur Tool: A brush-based tool that lets you paint blur onto specific areas of an image.

Creative uses of blur

• Direct attention by blurring less critical areas and keeping the subject sharp.
• Create depth by applying different blur levels to foreground, midground, and background elements.
• Simulate camera effects such as Motion Blur or Tilt-Shift looks.
• Add artistic expression with dreamy, abstract, or textured styles.

Best practices

• Blur does not restore lost detail but only reduces sharpness.
• Over-blurring can make images look unnatural or lose context.
• For flexibility, apply blur to a Smart Object or a duplicate layer so you can adjust or remove it later.