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- Photoshop User Guide
- Introduction to Photoshop
- Photoshop and other Adobe products and services
- Photoshop on the iPad (not available in mainland China)
- Photoshop on the iPad | Common questions
- Get to know the workspace
- System requirements | Photoshop on the iPad
- Create, open, and export documents
- Add photos
- Work with layers
- Draw and paint with brushes
- Make selections and add masks
- Retouch your composites
- Work with adjustment layers
- Adjust the tonality of your composite with Curves
- Apply transform operations
- Crop and rotate your composites
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- Work with Type layers
- Work with Photoshop and Lightroom
- Get missing fonts in Photoshop on the iPad
- Japanese Text in Photoshop on the iPad
- Manage app settings
- Touch shortcuts and gestures
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Edit your image size
- Livestream as you create in Photoshop on the iPad
- Correct imperfections with the Healing Brush
- Create brushes in Capture and use them in Photoshop on the iPad
- Work with Camera Raw files
- Create and work with Smart Objects
- Adjust exposure in your images with Dodge and Burn
- Auto adjustment commands in Photoshop on the iPad
- Smudge areas in your images with Photoshop on the iPad
- Saturate or desaturate your images using Sponge tool
- Content aware fill for iPad
- Photoshop on the web (not available in mainland China)
- Common questions
- System requirements
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Supported file types
- Introduction to the workspace
- Open and work with cloud documents
- Generative AI features
- Basic concepts of editing
- Quick Actions
- Work with layers
- Retouch images and remove imperfections
- Make quick selections
- Image improvements with Adjustment Layers
- Add a fill layer
- Move, transform, and crop images
- Draw and paint
- Draw and edit Shapes
- Work with Type layers
- Work with anyone on the web
- Manage app settings
- Generate Image
- Generate Background
- Reference Image
- Photoshop (beta) (not available in mainland China)
- Generative AI (not available in mainland China)
- Common questions on generative AI in Photoshop
- Generative Fill in Photoshop on the desktop
- Generate Image with descriptive text prompts
- Generative Expand in Photoshop on the desktop
- Replace background with Generate background
- Get new variations with Generate Similar
- Generative Fill in Photoshop on the iPad
- Generative Expand in Photoshop on the iPad
- Generative AI features in Photoshop on the web
- Content authenticity (not available in mainland China)
- Cloud documents (not available in mainland China)
- Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions
- Photoshop cloud documents | Workflow questions
- Manage and work with cloud documents in Photoshop
- Upgrade cloud storage for Photoshop
- Unable to create or save a cloud document
- Solve Photoshop cloud document errors
- Collect cloud document sync logs
- Invite others to edit your cloud documents
- Share files and comment in-app
- Workspace
- Workspace basics
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- Learn faster with the Photoshop Discover Panel
- Create documents
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- Default keyboard shortcuts
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- Rulers
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- Invalid JPEG Marker error | Opening images
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- Distort filters are unavailable
- About color
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- Get started with selections
- Make selections in your composite
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- Adobe Camera Raw
- Camera Raw system requirements
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- Troubleshooting
Use the Blur Gallery to quickly create distinct photographic blur effects with intuitive on-image controls
Topics in this article:
Each blur tool provides intuitive on-image controls to apply and control the blur effect. With the blur adjustments complete, use the Bokeh controls to style the overall blur effect. Photoshop provides a full-size, live preview when you work with the Blur Gallery effects.
Choose Filter > Blur Gallery and then select the desired effect.
For information on other blur effects, see Adjust image sharpness and blur.
For Lens blurs (Field blur, Iris blur, and Tilt/Shift blur), press the M key to view the blur mask applied to the image. The black areas are not blurred, while lighter areas indicate the amount of blurring applied to the image.
You can enhance the overall image, by controlling the appearance of out-of-focus or blurred parts. Specify the bokeh parameters to ensure an overall pleasing effect.
In the Blur Effects panel, specify a value for the following:
Light Bokeh
Brightens the out-of-focus, or blurred areas in the picture.
Bokeh Color
Adds more vivid color to lightened areas that are not blown out to white.
Light Range
Determines the range of tones the settings affect.
Beta features are now available for development, testing, and feedback in Photoshop (Beta) desktop app.
To install Photoshop (Beta), visit the Beta apps tab of your Creative Cloud desktop app and select Install next to Photoshop (Beta).
For more help, please visit the Adobe Photoshop beta community.
Introduced in the October 2022 release of Photoshop 24.0, the Live Gaussian Blur filter is a modernized approach to the Gaussian Blur filter. Use it to improve focus on a specific part of the image.
Use the Live Gaussian Blur filter to add improved artistic blur effects to your image or depth by blurring the background.
Add or subtract blur in your image, adjust the Blur Amount and Fade Opacity, and get the output on the Current Layer or a New Layer.
Work interactively on the canvas with brushes using the Live Gaussian Blur filter. Use the dialog box and brush tools to brush the filter on canvas and add or remove blurred regions. At the same time, interact with the layers panel visibility, blend modes, and opacity while fine-tuning the blur.
To learn more about the keyboard shortcuts to use this filter, check out the default keyboard shortcuts in the Filter Gallery keyboard shortcuts section.
Prevent color bleeding checkbox
For single selections, the Prevent color bleeding checkbox appears in the Live Gaussian Blur dialog, which prevents the color from bleeding across selection boundaries.
Test this by taking a photo with a colorful subject, like a flower, against a different color background. Invert the selection and apply a lot of blur.
You'll see the non-selected flower colors bleed into the background if you deselect the Prevent color bleed checkbox. When selected (default setting), the background will be purer without the mix of flower colors bleeding and blending in.
The Fade Opacity slider changes the overall opacity of the resulting blurred image. This is equivalent to using the Edit > Fade command after filters or adjustments.
The Preview checkbox enables previewing before and after the blur.
If the layer transparency is locked, Live Gaussian Blur will only blur the image and not the transparency. If the layer transparency is locked (the Lock transparent pixels button next to Locks in the layers panel), the filter will not blur the transparency.
Follow these steps to apply the Live Gaussian Blur filter:
Restore noise in blurred areas
Sometimes, after applying a Blur Gallery effect, you may notice that the blurred area of the image looks synthetic or unnatural. You can restore noise/grain to such a blurred image area to give it a more realistic appearance.
After using blur controls to achieve the initial effect, follow these steps to restore noise:
- In the Blur Effects panel, on the Noise tab, ensure that the checkbox in the top-right corner is selected. You may deselect this checkbox at any time to revert any noise previously added to the blurred image area.
- Select the type of noise that you want to apply to the blurred area:
- Uniform: Same as the noise added through the Filter > Noise > Add Noise > Uniform option.
- Gaussian: Same as the noise added through the Filter > Noise > Add Noise > Gaussian option.
- Grain: Same as the noise added through the Add Grain option in Camera Raw.
- Specify the following settings:
- Amount: Matches the amount of noise with the noise in the not-blurred areas of the image. Adjust the slider between 0-100%.
- Size: (Only for Grain-type noise) Controls the particle size for the noise
- Roughness: (Only available for Grain-type noise) Controls the regularity of the grain. Drag to the left (below 50%) to make the grain more uniform. Drag to the right (above 50%) to make the grain less even.
- Color: Graduated slider controlling the degree to which the noise is colored. To make the noise monochromatic, similar to the effect achieved by enabling the Monochromatic option on the Add Noise dialog (Filter > Noise > Add Noise), drag the slider to 0%.
- Highlight: For better shadow/highlight matching, reduces noise in the highlighted areas of the image. Adjust the slider between 0-100%.
Once you specify the settings for a noise type, Photoshop remembers it if you switch back and forth between noise types. For example, when you switch from Grain-type noise to Gaussian-type noise and then back to Grain-type noise.
To learn more, check out Make quick selections.
Applying Blur Gallery effects as Smart Filters
The blur effects in the Blur Gallery now support Smart Objects and can be applied non-destructively as Smart Filters. This feature also supports Smart Object video layers. To apply a Blur Gallery effect as a Smart Filter:
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In the Layers panel, select a Smart Object layer.
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Choose Filter > Blur Gallery, and then choose the appropriate effect.
For more information about Smart Filters, see Apply Smart Filters.
Use Field Blur to build a gradient of blurs, by defining multiple blur points with different amounts of blur. Add multiple pins to the image and specify a blur amount for each pin.
The final result is combined effect of all blur pins on the image. You can even add a pin outside the image, to apply the blur at corners.
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Choose Filter > Blur Gallery > Field Blur.
A Field blur pin is placed on the image. Click the image to add additional blur pins.
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Click a pin to select it, and do one of the following:
- Drag the blur handle to increase or decrease the blur. You can also use the Blur Tools panel to specify a blur value.
- Drag the pin to a new location.
- Press Delete to remove it.
A. Unselected blur pin B. Selected blur pin
Use the Iris blur to simulate a shallow depth-of-field effect to your picture, irrespective of the camera or lens used. You can also define multiple focus points, an effect almost impossible to achieve using traditional camera techniques.
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Choose Filter > Blur Gallery > Iris Blur.
The default Iris blur pin is placed on the image. Click the image to add additional blur pins.
A. Sharp area B. Fade area C. Blur area
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Drag the handles to move them to redefine the various areas.
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Drag the blur handle to increase or decrease the blur. You can also use the Blur Tools panel to specify a blur value.
Use the Tilt-Shift effect to simulate an image taken with a tilt-shift lens. This special effect blur defines area of sharpness, and then fades to a blur at the edges. The Tilt-Shift effect can be used to simulate photos of miniature objects.
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Choose Filter > Blur Gallery > Tilt-Shift.
The default Tilt-Shift blur pin is placed on the image. Click the image to add additional blur pins.
A. Sharp area B. Fade area C. Blur area
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Drag the blur handle to increase or decrease the blur. You can also use the Blur Tools panel to specify a blur value.
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To define the different areas, do the following:
- Drag the lines to move them.
- Drag the handles and rotate.
Using the Path Blur effects, you can create motion blurs along paths. You can also control the shape and amount of blurring. Photoshop automatically composites the effects of multiple path blurs applied to an image.
Follow the steps below:
- Choose Filter > Blur Gallery > Path Blur.
- In the Blur Tools panel, under the Path Blur section, specify whether you want to apply a Basic Blur or a Rear Sync Flash blur. A Rear Sync Flash blur simulates the effect of a flash fired at the end of an exposure.
- Use the on-image controls in conjunction with steps 4-8 of this procedure.
- Specify the following settings:
Speed
Adjust the Speed slider to specify the amount of path blur you want to apply to the image. The Speed setting is applied to all plath blurs in the image.
Taper
Adjust the slider to specify a taper value. A higher taper value lets the blur trail off gradually.
- If necessary, deselect Centered Blur. You may want to deselect this option if you want to apply a more directed motion blur.
The Centered Blur option helps create stable blurs by centering the blur shape for any pixel on that pixel.
- In the Motion Blur Effects tab, specify the following settings:
Strobe Flashes
Set the number of exposures of the virtual strobe flash light.
Strobe Strength
Determine how much blurring is displayed between strobe flash exposures. Strobe Strength controls the balance between ambient light and the virtual strobe flash light.
No strobe effect is displayed if you set Strobe Strength to 0%; only continuous blur is shown. On the other hand, when you set Strobe Strength to 100%, the strobe flashes are produced in full strength but no continuous blur is displayed between flash exposures. Intermediate Strobe Strength values produce a mixture of individual strobe flashes along with continuous blur.
- If necessary, adjust the blur amounts at the endpoints.
- Optionally, adjust the blur shape guides. Select Edit Blur Shapes to view the guides.
- In the blur tool Options bar, click OK to commit the Path Blur effect.
Tips for working with the on-image controls
You can use the overlay controls to conveniently create path blurs.
Using the controls, you first define a path for the blur (blue). You can then define a curve for the path, thereby creating new curve points in the path. Once the path has been defined, you can define blur shape guides (red).
A. Beginning point for the path B. Curve point created while defining a path C. Endpoint for the path along with the blur amount wheel control
A. Blur shape guides
Manipulate blur paths and blur shape guides
- Click an endpoint to select it.
- Double-click an endpoint to view the red blur shape guides. Alternatively, select Edit Blur Shapes in the Blur Tools panel to view the guides.
- Drag endpoints to lengthen the blur path.
- Cmd/Ctrl-click an endpoint to reduce its blur shape guide to zero.
- Hover the mouse pointer near a selected endpoint to view the blur amount wheel control.
- Opt/Alt-click a curve point along the blur path to convert it into a corner point. Opt/Alt-click a corner point to convert it back to a curve point.
- Shift-drag the red blur shape to move both blur shapes for the path together.
- Use the Cmd/Ctrl+drag combination to move a path blur.
- Use the Opt/Alt+Cmd/Ctrl+drag combination to duplicate a path blur.
- To delete a path blur, with an endpoint selected, press the Delete key.
Using the Spin Blur effect, you can rotate and blur the image around one or more points. The spin blur is a radial blur measured in degrees. Photoshop lets you work with center points, blur size and shape, and other settings, all while viewing a live preview of the changes.
A. Original image B. Spin Blur (Blur Angle: 15°; Strobe Strength: 50%; Strobe Flashes: 2; Strobe Flash Duration: 10°) C. Spin Blur (Blur Angle: 60°; Strobe Strength: 100%; Strobe Flashes: 4; Strobe Flash Duration: 10°)
Follow these steps:
- Choose Filter > Blur Gallery > Spin Blur.
- In the Blur Tools panel, under the Spin Blur section, use the Blur Angle control to vary the amount of blurring. You can either specify an angular value (0-360°) or adjust the slider. Alternatively, you can also adjust the blur amount using overlay controls.
- In the Blur Effects panel, on the Motion Blur Effects tab, specify the following settings:
Strobe Flashes
Set the number of exposures of the virtual strobe flash light
Strobe Strength
Determine how much blurring is displayed between strobe flash exposures. Strobe Strength controls the balance between ambient light and the virtual strobe flash light.
No strobe effect is displayed if you set Strobe Strength to 0%; only continuous blur is shown. On the other hand, when you set Strobe Strength to 100%, the strobe flashes are produced in full strength but no continuous blur is displayed between flash exposures. Intermediate Strobe Strength values produce a mixture of individual strobe flashes along with continuous blur.
Strobe Flash Duration
Lets you specify, in degrees, the length of a strobe flash exposure. Strobe Flash Duration controls the length of the blur for each flash exposure in terms of angular distance along the circumference.
- In the blur tool Options bar, click OK to commit the Spin Blur effect.
You can disable preview from the blur tool Options bar.
Photoshop automatically blends effects of multiple spin blurs defined for an image.
Tips for working with the overlay controls
Overlay controls depicted in the illustration below are available for the Spin Blur effect.
A. Rotation point B. Blur ring C. Feather handles D. Ellipse handles
- To add a new spin blur, click a desired location in the image.
- To duplicate a spin blur, use the following keyboard combinations:
(Windows) Alt+Ctrl+drag
(Mac) Opt+Cmd+drag - To resize the ellipse uniformly, drag an ellipse boundary.
- To delete a spin blur, press the Delete key while the spin blur is selected.
- To move a rotation point off-center, use the following keyboard combination:
(Windows) Alt+drag
(Mac) Opt+drag
Repositioning the rotation point is helpful while working with objects viewed at an angle. - Hold down the H key to temporarily hide the overlay controls.