There can be several reasons why you would like to have some blur in the background. From adding depth of field and helping your main subject stand out to hiding a distracting element in your background, knowing how to add blur in Photoshop is a helpful image editing skill for any photographer. 

If achieving the perfect blur from the camera is not possible, you can always blur the background of your commercial photography in Photoshop. In this article, we’ll show you how!

Prepare your layers

For a perfect blurred background effect, you should start by transforming your image into two layers. One layer will be for the main subject and the other for the background. 

Go to the Layer panel (Windows > Layers from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window)

Duplicate the Background layer and name the layer “Product.” Then you will have a Product layer sitting on top of the Background layer.

Separate your product from the background

Select your “Product” layer and use the Magic Wand tool to select the edges of your object. After doing this, go back to the Layers panel and click on “Add Layer Mark” at the bottom of the panel. Then, uncheck the Background layer by clicking on the Eye icon next to the Background layer.

If you want a more precise edge on some areas of your product, click the Image Mask in the “Product” Layer and choose the Brush Tool from the Toolbar. Use the brush to add or remove background areas from the image of your product.

To bring back parts of the subject that you want to be visible, set the Foreground color to white, and to delete areas from your product photo, set the Foreground to black. Remember that you can adjust the size and hardness of the brush as needed.

An alternative to removing the background from your product photo in Photoshop is using an image editing tool that will do that for you automatically, like PixelPro.AI. This AI-based photo editing service will be beneficial if you deal with batches of product images that need background removal. Try it for free here. 

Edit the background layer

When you are satisfied with how your product looks on its own, stay on the “Product” layer and choose Select and then Load Selection from the dropdown menu at the top of the app window. 

Choose the product mask from the pop-up and hit OK. When your Product is selected, turn off the visibility of the Product layer and turn on the visibility for the Background layer. 

To ensure you don’t catch any pixels from your product in your selection, choose Select > Modify and Expand from the dropdown menu. Next, choose an amount based on the size of your image (10-20 pixels) and make sure you don’t check the box for “Apply effect and canvas bounds.” Finally, to fill the space, choose “Content-Aware” next to Contents. 

Add the blur

If you want to achieve a seamless commercial photography blur, we recommend you work with Field Blur. To access it, choose Filter > Blur Gallery > Field Blur. This feature allows you to control the blur in your image by placing pins on those areas and adjusting the blur. An example of a natural-looking blur has the areas closer to the camera be a little blurred and the image than the further areas. 

If you want to adjust the blur, select a pin with your mouse and slide it from left to right to reduce or intensify blur. Then, when you are happy with the result, click Ok.

Next, turn on the visibility of your Product layer to see the result, which should look pretty amazing!

Sounds like a pain to blur the background?

Let us do the hard work for you! First, upload your photos to pixelpro.ai and get the background removed automatically in just a few seconds. Then take the transparent image and play with as many background effects as you want.

Start the free trial here.