How Much Blurring Is Just Right?

[flubby]

How much should I blur pictures using the Photoshop 7.0. I mean... the background, of course. Which is the number (there is a number that quantifies the amount of blur, right?). How much is too much and how much is too little? And what is the difference between the options "blur" and "more blur".....?

[JCW3]

I do a far amount of blurring or softening with PS and I have found that each photo is differant and you will have to work with them that way.

I often create 2 layers. 1 being your edited verions, and 2 being a copy that you will apply the bluring to.

I usually then select layer 2 and use garison blur. Each photo will be differant, but I usually blur between 1-3. Once layer 2 is blurred, I then use the eraser tool to select areas I want blurred more than others. After that I usually then adjust the traspancy to give a NATURAL DOF look. If this is not done, the blur often looks unnatural or fake.

Again there are alot of ways of doing it, and each photo is differant, so you will have to work with each one.

The above steps sound like a lot, but it usually takes only 1-3 minutes.

[flubby]

What do you use to select the pictures? That magnetic lasso (or something like that)...?

How do you create a layer...? Where do I go to adjust the transparency?

Thanks for the help

[JCW3]

I am not on my own PC, so I may not be exact, but here goes...

Selecting area of photo of not blur:
I usually use the erase tool as I posted before. This allows me to erase out sections of the 2 layer that I do not want to be blured. Some people use the lasso, but I personally dont like this method. But again this is all personal choice.

This also depends alot on whether your using a mouse, ball, or pen/tab.

Creating a layer:
All you have to do is left click your photo and there will be a drop down that states "Duplicate Layer". You can also do this in you layer drop down.

Transparency:
You can adjust your transparency by going to your layer menu (shows how many layers you have) There you will see transparency is probably set to 100%, for a natural effect drop it down some.

[ImKayd1]

Thanks for the tip. I've been using the magnetic lasso and I usually hate the results, also it's complicated and time consuming. I'll now look forward to the next time I want to blur. Again, Thanks, Suzan



Suzan