It's Always Autumn

creative tutorials for everyday life

  • Holidays
  • Holidays
    • back to school
    • birthdays
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • July 4th
    • Mother’s Day/Father’s Day
    • teacher appreciation
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s
  • Crafts
  • Crafts
    • crafts + DIY
    • handmade gifts
    • photo crafts
    • kid crafts + activities
  • Recipes
  • Recipes
    • bread
    • dessert
    • main dish
    • side dish
  • Sewing
  • Sewing
    • free sewing patterns
    • sewing for women
    • sewing for kids
    • how to sew
    • gifts
  • Photography
  • Photography
    • beginning photography tips
    • posing tips
    • photo editing tips
  • Tips
  • Tips
    • parenting tips
    • travel tips
    • books I love
  • FAQ

photo editing tips photography
April 21, 2017

how to blur the background in a photo after you take it

One of the things that makes photos look a lot more professional is bokeh, or that gorgeous blurred out background. This usually requires setting the depth of field on your camera, which means if you don’t know how to shoot on manual or you’re taking pictures mostly with your phone you’re out of luck. Or so I thought! I just discovered you can actually ADD a really pretty blur to the background of your photos using Adobe Photoshop Elements 15. The background blur puts all the emphasis on the subject of your photo, and it just looks pretty. The best part is that it’s super easy to do!

This is so cool! There's an easy way to add background blur (or bokeh) to your photo in post processing! Easy photo editing tips.

Now, let me just say that like most things in photography, it’s better to get it right in camera, as opposed to in editing after the fact. And I’ve even shared some tips before on how to blur the background of your photos even when you’re shooting on auto. However, sometimes I simply don’t have time to mess around with my camera settings, like when I was taking pictures of my son at Jedi Training in Disneyland (below). As soon as I saw this picture of him I loved it, especially the way he’s staring so intently at Darth Vader, but I was also disappointed that there were so many distractions in the background.

This is so cool! There's an easy way to add background blur (or bokeh) to your photo in post processing! Easy photo editing tips.

But with the Depth of Field Guided Edit in Photoshop Elements 15, I was able to blur out all of those distractions.

Here’s another example. I snapped this photo of my daughter in the library with my phone, and if there’s a way to blur the background in a photo using my phone, I have no idea how to do it.

This is so cool! There's an easy way to add background blur (or bokeh) to your photo in post processing! Easy photo editing tips.

After about 90 seconds of editing with Photoshop Elements, I have a nice background blur that makes a cute photo even cuter.

This is so cool! There's an easy way to add background blur (or bokeh) to your photo in post processing! Easy photo editing tips.

You’ll find the Depth of Field Guided Edit in Guided mode in Photoshop Elements 15. It’s under “Special Edits.”

how-to-blur-background-photos-in-editing-easy-depth-of-field-hack-photoshop-elements-10

Here’s a video that walks you through the easy Guided Edit:

If you’re a repeat reader of this blog, you know that I love Photoshop Elements and that I use it nearly every day. If you’d like to try blurring the background of your photos, click here to try Photoshop Elements free for 30 days. And click here to see all my other Photoshop Elements tutorials. Thank you to Adobe for sponsoring this post.

This is so cool! There's an easy way to add background blur (or bokeh) to your photo in post processing! Easy photo editing tips.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print

Home » photography » how to blur the background in a photo after you take it


5 Comments

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft and recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

« DIY teacher appreciation pop up gift card holder
DIY popsicle stick photo bracelet & PSE giveaway »

Comments

  1. sharon says

    April 28, 2017 at 12:55 pm

    Good to know but this doesn’t work with PSE 12 . Thanks for the tutorial I should update my PSE

    Reply
  2. narendra Wetkoli says

    May 4, 2017 at 6:25 am

    Thanks for sharing Informative post with us.

    Reply
  3. download skype says

    May 25, 2017 at 9:13 pm

    Have the background to make the picture look good

    Reply
  4. PJ says

    May 21, 2018 at 1:23 pm

    Excellent thank your sharing . made the mistake of not setting camera first…yikes, but hopefully now it will be good

    Reply
  5. Adam says

    July 31, 2020 at 7:51 am

    One easy way of how to blur photo is by using online services, like this one https://blur-photo.com. It’s free and it do the job!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hey, glad you’re here!

I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

Find me here

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

Popular Posts

101 fun activities that kids can do at home list on a colorful striped background

101 Fun + Easy Activities kids can do AT HOME

50 easy crafts and activities kids can do indoors! Perfect for cold or rainy days.

50 best indoor activities for kids: easy crafts + games

Gorgeous art projects for kids! Easy art that turns out amazing.

20 easy art projects for kids that turn out AMAZING!

How to make GORGEOUS paper flowers

How to make mini donuts! {baked cake mix donuts recipe}

Blog policy

All posts and pictures are copyrighted by Autumn Baldwin and blog content may not be reposted elsewhere. However, linking back to my content is just fine. You may use one photo as long as you link directly back to the specific post. Thank you!

Please view our Privacy Policy here.

Also, please note that this blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316192.168.1.1 router login

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

free email series

NO-FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

x