This process works best when you??™re photographing a subject
that??™s quite distinct from the background, like in a portrait.
Here??™s the digest version: To blur the background of your image, you??™ll need to isolate the
subject so the blurring only happens in the rest of the picture (see ???Make Selections in a Photo???
for the scoop on selection tools). Once your subject is selected, you need to ???invert??? your
selection so the Blur filter happens to everything except the subject. Finally, you can run the
Blur filter on your image. Once you??™ve blurred your background, turn off the selection and save
your image.
That??™s the quick overview. Here??™s how to pull off this feat of digital trickery:
1. Open a slightly blurry portrait that you??™d like to sharpen into Photoshop Elements.
2. Select the Magnetic Lasso tool and set the Feather value to about 5??”that way the
transition from the subject to the background won??™t be abrupt.
3. Trace the outline of the subject??™s face or body, being careful to stay along the edge. If it
helps, ???build up??? your selection using the Add to Selection mode. (You can even switch
tools from Magnetic Lasso to the plain Lasso or Polygonal Lasso without losing any of
your selection.)
4. When you have completely selected the subject, choose Enhance | Unsharp Mask to
sharpen the subject, but not affect the background.
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