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We should note, Photoshop techniques are almost always more work than getting the effect in-camera, but the field blur tool will quickly imitate the bokeh of a more expensive lens. You could spend an hour creating a detailed depth map, but the field blur tool lets you approximate this with much less work. In Photoshop, you have to tell the computer what objects are closest and farthest from the camera in order to get a blur that resembles the real thing and changes with distance - i.e., objects that are farther away from the subject should have more blur than objects that are closer. Of these, getting the effect of distance correct is perhaps the most important.
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After trying everything from detailed selections to a full-on depth map, the field blur tool offered the best, most realistic results in the least amount of time.īokeh is a tricky thing to try to imitate in Photoshop because true lens blur is based on many factors, including the focal length of the lens, the shape and size of the aperture, and distance from the subject. Photoshop includes a handful of different options to blur a background, with each option offering a varying level of control - and level of difficulty. One of the easiest ways to go from blah to blur, however, is by using Photoshop’s field blur tool, which creates realistic background blur without requiring you to waste hours in front of your computer. The program includes a number of different tools to selectively blur the background of a photo, along with many options for controlling the type of blur.
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But even without a high-end camera or portrait mode, you can still create beautifully soft backgrounds in Adobe Photoshop.īeyond simply granting you an ability you may have not had access to in camera, choosing to add blur in Photoshop can give you more control and flexibility over where the blur is applied and how it looks. The effect is popular for portraits, and is emulated - with some limitations - by the “portrait modes” now found on many smartphones. Fitbit Versa 3īackground blur, often called “bokeh” after the Japanese word for blur, is generally associated with high-end cameras with wide-aperture lenses.
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