A Step-by-Step Guide to Blur a Picture on Your Phone

How to Blur a Picture

Are you wondering how you can blur the background of a photo? Coming up with blurry background for a picture is an arduous task, but you might find it easy to create a stunning image and blur the background with our step-by-step guide.

Today, most professional photographers prefer getting clear and crisp photos. That being the goal, it is not always the case in some cases. While using the portrait mode, you can focus your camera on the main subject while keeping the background blurry.

This way, you can quickly draw the viewers' attention to the main subject precisely. This is important, mainly when focusing only on the focal point.

Therefore, the most common reason for the blurry background of a photo is to make the subject stand out from the other section of your image.

Blurring the photo is also vital, especially when you want to make your license unreadable or hide a face from someone to recognize. Regardless, blurring your photo background is very important. Let us find out more in our article.


How to Blur a Picture on iPhone

you blur the background of a photo using an iPhone and at the same time keep the main subject at the focal point. Most apple products make things easy through portrait mode.

However, some do not have this mode, which does not limit you; you can always create a stunning photo with a blurred background to make the subject shine. This section has collected some of the best ways to help you blur a photo background using your iPhone.


Get Closer to Your Subject

The first method is to take a picture with a blurred background on iPhone to get closer to the main subject. This is possible even if your phone does not have the portrait mode. to get incredible photos with blurry backgrounds, here are some of the tricks:

Step 1: Get your phone and click on the camera icon from home.

camera application

Step 2: Get closer to the subject before taking a photo. This way, you will be able to create a shallow field depth. Thus, you will only focus on a small section of the picture while keeping the rest of the parts blurred.

Get closer

Step 3: Again, move closer to the subject to get a more blurry background. However, avoid getting too close to the subject because you might not get a good focus. Thus try moving away and retaking a new photo.

Move closer

Step 4: Ensure that the main subject is on a sharp focus before taking a snap. If not sharp, try moving away from it and take another photo. You can use the add-on macro lens for an extra close-up photo.

Step 5: When taking a close photo, make sure that you focus on the correct part of a targeted scene. And if you want to set the camera focus, click on the screen where you want to focus. Then you will see a yellow box showing you the focus point on the subject.

Step 6: When the background does not get blurred, then try moving closer to the subject and click on the screen to set the focus. When you get closer, the background will become blurred.


Use the Portrait Mode

Other than using focus point, you can also use the portrait mode on iPhone to get a blurry background on a photo. It is not only the DSLR camera that can help you achieve professional results. iPhone cameras have perfect features to get you a blurry background while taking photos.

This feature is portrait mode. The feature utilizes depth effect software to help you blur the background while keeping the subject with a sharp focus. This feature is available on all latest iPhones from version 7 onwards. So, if your phone has this feature, follow these steps to help you get started:-

Step 1: Open your camera application on the iPhone.

camera application

Step 2: Then choose the portrait mode from the bottom of your screen

subject

Step 3: Then make sure that you position the subject between the 2 eight ft from your camera. Again, make sure that you have enough light at the scene. This is because portrait mode is not effective in low light supply.

portrait

Step 4: Therefore, once you are done composing the photo, you will be in a position to identify the yellow focus box surrounding the main subject. Thus, the subject will be on focus while keeping the background blurred.

Step 5: Observe your screen, and immediately you notice a notification ‘ natural light or sometimes the dept effect this is on iPhone 7 indicated in yellow, then understand that the gadget is standby to take a clear shot.

Click on the shutter icon and take a photo.

After taking a photo in portrait mode, the next step is to make the background blurry. This is a simple task but only possible when using the latest iPhone versions.

Step 1: Go to the camera roll and open the portrait photo in the Photos app.

Step 2: Then click on edit from the top right-hand side.

Use the Portrait Mode

Step 3: Then click on the f/number button found at the top left,

Use the Portrait Mode 1

Step 4: Go to the dept slider located beneath the photo and adjust your blur density. If you select a low f/number, you will get a strong blur, but a high f/number gives you a soft blur and detailed background information.


Use Third-Party Apps

Photoshop Express

If the above method fails to give you perfect results, then you can also try to use a third-party application. Multiple third-party applications such as Photoshop Express and Blur Photo Background help you edit and make background blur after taking a photo with your iPhone.

For this illustration, we are going to guide you using Photoshop Express. Thus, follow these steps to add blur to your photo with Photoshop Express. We have tested the application, and it proved to give you an excellent outcome:-

Step 1: First, download the photoshop express application from the app store and install it on your gadget. Then launch the app on the iPhone.

Step 2: Then select the photo you want to add to the blur.

Step 3: Click adjustments, navigate through the options and hit blur from the menu.

Step 4: You will see a circle on the screen. Use it to drag along and cover the main subject of the photo.

Photoshop Express blur

Step 5: Then make good use of the slider tool to increase or decrease the quantity of blur. Then use your finger to reduce or increase the size of your circle.

increase or decrease the quantity of blur

Step 6: When done, click the upload button found at the top of your screen. Then the photo will be saved or added to the photo library for th next step or use.


How to Blur a Picture on Android

Auto Blur Background

Android users are never left out, especially when using the Samsung Galaxy lineup. Such make has the portrait mode like the iPhone, enabling you to blur your photo's background. But if the android you are using does not have such a capacity, you can consider getting the Auto Blur Background application from the play store.

This means that before you get started to blur the background of your photo, you must frist download the auto blur background application and install it. After that, follow these procedures:-

Step 1: Tap on the large portrait icon to launch the auto blur background application

Step 2: Then grant application permission so that it can access your gallery and then choose the photo you want to blur.

Step 3: The application will analyze and then automatically blur the background of your photo from there. Still, you can choose your focus point from the bottom left corner to help you manually blur some parts of our photo using tools such as draw and eraser.

Step 4: Then click on the blue button and proceed to adjust the slider. That is either increasing or reducing the intensity of the blur. When done, click on the back button represented by an arrow icon.

Step 5: Immediately you are done, choose the save button found at the lower right corner of your screen and save the blurred background image to your android device.

Sometimes, you might wish to blur the background of an image that does not have a person but use an auto blur background application. We encourage you to click on the landscape and sometimes shape in such a scenario instead of the portrait option.


How to Blur a Face in a Picture

How to Blur a Face in a Picture

Still, you can blur a face in a picture. Most social media platforms are more full of invasions than before. Today, most people are linked to the information through the image. You might want to avoid including their faces online in photos, including a kid. Thus, if it is impossible to remove them, the only option is to blur their face. There are various options to help you do this regardless of using android, iOS, or even a desktop.

For simple face blurring, then try to use the free-to-use websites. These are the easiest and give the fastest outcomes when you want to blur the face in a photo before uploading online. You will only need to upload your photo to the site and let it blur the face. Some of these free-to-use websites are limited to LunaPIc and photo hide and involve PicMonkey.

However, it is advisable to read terms and policies due to privacy concerns before using these sites. Among the three, LunaPic is unique and detects faces to blur.

The second option to help you blur the faces in a photo is through the use of face blurring apps. Though there are few apps for this kid online, the existing ones are effective in helping you blur your face and protect your identity online while keeping your privacy.

Some of the familiar face blurring apps for android are android hide face, obscuraCam, etc., and iOS users can also consider things like touch blur and TADAA apps from the app store.


Conclusion

While taking photos is an important profession, blurring the background plays a vital role. Having such valuable skills can help you create unique photos focusing on the main subjects. You can use third-party applications or portrait mode on your iPhone gadget.

Sometimes, you might need to blur a person's face to secure their identity and online privacy. Thus, the above procedures are essential for photographers, social media influencers, and individual purposes.