How to Blur the Background of a Picture – All Methods

Technological advancements in smartphones, cameras, and lenses have been trying to eliminate blur in images and produce the cleanest high-quality photos. However, the background blur effect also has a few advantages that might make you want it in your photos.

Whether you want it for product photography, stylish portraits, or anything else, the blur effect is inevitably making a comeback, as it can take your photography style to a new level when done moderately and tastefully.

Moreover, you can achieve the effect in numerous ways. Let’s review some of these and show you how to blur the background of a picture.

Capturing Blurred Photos on Android

Most Android phones nowadays include between two and five cameras on the back, which come with various apertures. These are indicated by the “f/X” in your phone’s specifications, where the “X” is a number that can range between 1.7 and 3.5, making these cameras perfect for creating a bokeh effect.

That effect is responsible for background blur and controls the depth of field for your photography, allowing you to blur backgrounds while taking the shot. Here’s how you can try it with your Android phone:

• Step 1: Open your Camera app’s manual mode and adjust the f-number value. While doing that, try different distances between your Android phone and the subject of your photo.
• Step 2: Use your phone’s optical zoom if you have it. It’s worth noting that only newer and more expensive Android phones have it, while others use a digital zoom.
• Step 3: Try macro mode and get close to your subject. The better your Android’s macro camera, the better the background blur. A macro attachment also exists for various phones.

Try these steps independently or combine them for perfect blurry background images.

Capturing Images With Blurred Background on iPhone

Like most Androids, the past few generations of iPhones have included several cameras for all your photography needs. These cameras have gotten quite good at what they do, including the bokeh or the blurry background effect.

Here’s how to create it while taking the shot on an iPhone:

• Step 1: Use portrait mode and try different distances between the iPhone and the subject, which usually range between half a meter and three meters, depending on your subject’s size.
• Step 2: Try the iPhone’s manual camera mode and adjust the f-number value in the Camera app. A wider aperture like f/2.8 can be an excellent way to achieve background blur.

If you’re wondering how to blur the backgrounds of already taken photos, your iPhone can only help if they are in portrait mode. If that’s the case, you can manually edit the amount of background blur by adjusting the f-number value inside the Photos app.

How to Take Blurred Photos With a Camera

If you own a professional camera, such as a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, you can create an even better bokeh effect while shooting your pictures. However, this method will likely require an expensive wide-aperture lens, which can go as low as f/1.2 or as high as f/5.6.

Moreover, such cameras and lenses allow you to zoom physically, which isn’t possible on smartphones as they have limited space in the back, and optical zoom requires a lot of space.

Although it’s not the most viable option for shooting blurry background images if you don’t already own the equipment, it will undoubtedly create the best blurry effect if you already have a decent camera and lens. Here’s how:

• Step 1: Adjust your camera’s aperture to the widest possible setting and create a shallow depth of field.
• Step 2: Zoom in on your subject—the background will automatically appear more blurry.
• Step 3: Use the macro effect by getting as close as possible to the subject of your photo. The smaller the distance between the camera and the focus of your image, the better the background blur.

Professional cameras and lenses allow you to blur the background using any of these methods, but you can also combine the steps above for the best possible bokeh effect.

How to Blur the Background of a Picture During Editing

There’s another solution for blurring image backgrounds that’s also perfect for those wondering how to blur backgrounds of already taken photos. That solution comes in the form of post-processing and editing apps, and here’s how to use them:

• Step 1: Brush the background to blur it manually. It’s worth noting that some tools use AI and allow one-click background blur or brushing, but not all of these tools work perfectly.
• Step 2: Try the radial filter or polygonal lasso tool some apps offer, as these will allow you to select your photo’s subject and blur everything else around it.

Notable background blur editing tools include Adobe Photoshop, PicsArt, YouCam Perfect, and others.

Generating Blurred Images With AI Tools

If the editing method above seems complicated or you already have photos to which you want to add the blur effect, there is another way. Namely, technological advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning have also brought us specific tools to make such edits easier.

Various AI photography tools can save you precious time editing images and allow you to get the blur effect in seconds instead of hours. One such tool is Wondershare VirtuLook, which can take your photography game to the next level without a hassle.

The tool primarily orients toward generating high-quality lifestyle photos and product photography. However, you can also make fantastic blurred background portraits, create entirely new images, or add various edits to your existing ones.

Here’s how to do that after logging in.

• Step 1: Select the Product photo generator in the left sidebar, hit Step 1: Click to upload button to add your highest-quality photos, and click the Edit selection to maintain the part you want to edit.

• Step 2: Press the Choose a template button on the right side and select your background settings. In Custom Editing, you can parameter the output photo as your requirement. Below is an example for your reference:
  Among the flowers hanging with dewdrops, the background is blurred in the distance

• Step 3: Hit the Cast the spell button and give Wondershare VirtuLook a few seconds to generate the image.

That’s all it takes. The entire process is only a few seconds long, and you can see why so many people prefer letting AI tools handle such edits and save valuable time.

Conclusion

When done moderately, the blur effect can create stunning photos that put the entire focus on the subject of your photography. Such tasteful edits can vastly improve the overall quality of your pictures, creating a beautiful effect that can attract a lot of attention.

You can create a blurry background in several ways, and we’ve shown you how to do it on Androids, iPhones, a professional camera, and inside an editing app in post-production.

However, you can add blurry backgrounds with an AI tool such as Wondershare VirtuLook. It allows you to control the blur, generate new blurry-background images of your products, or add a fantastic blur effect to your existing portrait pictures.