Creative background blur is easy, thanks to the Guided Edit mode in Elements 10

What You’ll Need:

>> Adobe Photoshop Elements 10
>> 15 Minutes

Difficulty: Medium

Photographers use depth of field to blur distracting backgrounds and make their subjects stand out clearly. It’s a very effective technique, but it’s not so easy to do now as it used to be, partly because sensors are smaller and partly because most of us use zoom lenses with restricted maximum apertures, rather than the fast "prime" lenses of yesteryear.

As a result, the only way to get a shallow depth of field effect is to simulate it digitally. This means selecting the areas you want to keep sharp and then blurring the rest, but while this is simple in principle, it can be quite difficult to get right if you’re doing it manually. But Elements 10 has a new Guided Edit Depth of Field mode that walks you through the whole process, from creating a selection to applying the blur.

BEFORE: The above image is clear enough, but it could be argued the focus is a bit flat.

AFTER: Applying a depth of field effect to the scene gives it dimensionality.

It works in two modes, Simple and Custom, and our walkthrough shows both of these in action. You need to choose the effect according to the image, because what works for one might not work for another. To be convincing, depth of field effects have to be based on the real properties of lenses. Objects at a fixed distance from the camera should appear sharp, while those nearer or further away should appear progressively more blurred. This means you often need to take a careful look at an image to see what should be sharp and what shouldn’t.

Sometimes you can get away with the Simple mode, but more often than not you need the Custom mode. Still, you have to be realistic about what’s feasible. Complicated outlines (twigs, hair) can be impossible to get right, and you need to pay attention to perspective and subject distance too; depth of field, perspective and perception are related in subtle and complex ways, so be prepared for a certain amount of trial and error.

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How to Recreate Depth of Field Effects in Photoshop Elements

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  1. Simple Mode

  The Depth of Field effect works in two modes: Simple and Custom. For the first shot we’ll use Simple mode. It’s easy to apply, but you need to choose the right image; it creates a blurring effect from the center outwards, which is nice, but isn’t really a true simulation of depth.

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  2. Add Blur

  In Simple mode, step 1 is to click the Add Blur button. This adds a fixed amount of blur to the photo and it’s usually more than enough to create the defocused effect, though you can add more using a slider at the bottom of the panel, once you’ve defined your "in Focus" area.

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  4. Custom Mode

  This subject demands more control, hence Custom mode. We want to keep the front of the car sharp, but blur the background; first, "Select the Focus Area" with the Quick Selection tool. You can remove areas selected unintentionally and re-select until it’s right.

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  5. Add Blur

  Now go to step 2, Add Depth of Field and click the Add Blur button. Again, Elements adds a fixed amount of blur which you can add to later: but the more you add, the less realistic the effect becomes (see the next step). The cutoff around edges can start to look artificial.

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  6. More Blur

  Extra blur increases depth of field effect, but because we associate shallow depth of field with extreme close-ups, a full-size subject like this can start to look like a tiny model of the real thing. It’s this effect that makes the popular "miniaturize" effects in cameras work so well.

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  7. Refine Mask

  Selections made using the Depth of Field Guided Edit are seldom perfect. But if you swap to Full Edit mode, you’ll see that Elements has created a layer with a "blur mask". Select it and use the Refine Mask option to improve the mask a little by "expanding" and "feathering" it.

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  8. Manual Masking

  The other option is to use the Brush tool: set color to Black and Opacity to around 30%; use this to paint directly on the mask and gradually build up the defocused effect to produce a subtler blend -- useful here for blurring the bonnet from grille to windscreen.

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  Quick Tip

  The Depth of Field Guided Edit doesn’t do anything you can’t do yourself. Here, we’ve created a duplicate layer, blurred it, added a layer mask, then used the Gradient tool set to "reflected" mode to mask a thin strip of rooftops near the top.

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