By Tata Rossi 8 days ago, Software Reviews
Do you want to know how to make the background of a picture blurry in images taken on your iPhone or Android smartphones? If you are interested in photography, you’ve probably noticed those impressive portraits with amazingly blurred background on Instagram. You may also achieve such results using built-in or third-party apps on any smartphone. You don’t even need an expensive DSLR camera.
New iPhone models allow you to easily blur background in photos even with basic apps. However, old iPhone models may also produce such an effect using additional programs. There are three simple ways to do it.
Lucky owners of the latest iPhones, like 12, 11, or iPhone 7 or 8 Plus may use a Portrait Mode. It is the simplest way to blur a picture on iPhone and it guarantees great results without further image editing. Learn how to use a Portrait Mode for blurring photo background on iPhone:
STEP 1. Open a Camera App on your iPhone.
STEP 2. Swipe left and you will see a Portrait Menu.
STEP 3. You will see an additional menu with various types of portrait lighting. Pick up one of them.
STEP 4. Place an object within 2-8 feet from the lens. If you are too close, a message like “step back” will appear on the screen.
STEP 5. When the iPhone determines that your composition is ideal, a banner with lighting will become yellow. Press the shutter button.
By the way, if you don’t really like the blurring level and want to do it less intense, you should click on the “f” button at the top right and change the aperture. A lower value results in a more blurred background and vice versa.
This method of blurring photo background works for all iPhone models but it is suitable only for photographing small objects. If you have an earlier model of an iPhone or you don’t want to use a Portrait Mode in a new model, try to place an object within a foot or so from the lens.
As a rule, a phone’s sensor has to choose between a distant background and close up. Click on your lens to focus a camera on it. Continue moving closer and farther till the object is sharp and the background is blurred.
In case a shot is already taken or you want to get access to more adjustments while shooting, you may use some camera apps for iPhone or photo editing apps. These applications use the tools that blur background in photos after you have taken them.
FaceTune 2 is an all-purpose portrait editing application. Of course, it provides many useful tools, including the one called Defocus. It is used to blur background in photos. In a matter of seconds, you will burr the background while the main object will be sharp.
AfterFocus is another app that can help you blur images after they are already taken. You select specific areas of a picture and it blurs them. AfterFocus offers automatic computation of the closest objects, a wide range of filters, etc. What is more, the tool performs an extremely realistic blurring and it seems like it was created by a pro camera but not an app.
Tadaa SLR is a tool that allows you to replicate the shallow depth of field in an iPhone shot. Moreover, this app brags about Lytro-like focus manipulation and bokeh instruments. All these features make Tadaa SLR one of the best apps to blur pics. The only drawback is that it is not free; you have to pay 2 bucks for it.
Mind that some apps for iOS are developed only for phones with a dual camera.
Most Android flagship models, like Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel, provide features similar to those a Portrait Mode on iPhone offers. Therefore, to blur background in photos on Android, you may use the tips above since they work equally well on Android smartphones.
In case your Android phone doesn’t support a blurring function via standard camera apps, you may download one of the photo editing apps for Android to blur already taken shots:
Although it is not super fast, Blur Image DSLR Focus Effect will qualitatively blur the background of your photographs. When you import a picture to the application, it is automatically blurred. However, you may choose what part you want to blur ‒ foreground or background.
PicsArt boasts numerous blurring effects. In other words, you may use Smart, Motion, Normal or other types of blur.
Background Defocus differs from other tools in this post since it’s not a photo editing application but a camera one. Using Background Defocus, you may set the focus point wherever you like on each photograph you take with it. Then, photos with various focus points are merged into one image and you get a qualitative photograph that looks like it has been taken with a professional DSLR camera.
If you need a professional effect, you may use Lightroom on PC or Mac and look through a guide on how to blur background in Lightroom to achieve stunning results.
