Table Of Contents: How To Blur Background On iPhone

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1. Capture Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds Using Portrait Mode
2. Get Closer To Your Subject For Amazing Background Blur
3. Blur The Background Of A Picture In Editing
4. Frame Your Subject With A Dreamy Blurred Vignette

1. Capture Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds Using Portrait Mode

Do you want to shoot stunning iPhone portrait photos with gorgeous blurred backgrounds?

If you thought you could only achieve professional results with a DSLR camera… think again!

The built-in iPhone Camera app has an incredible tool for blurring the background in your photos.

What is this tool?

It’s called Portrait mode.

Portrait mode uses depth-effect software to blur the background of a picture as you shoot it.

The subject will remain in sharp focus… which is perfect for portrait photography.

It’s also great for scenes with distracting backgrounds. Your subject will stand out much better if the background is blurred.

Portrait mode is available on all of the latest iPhones: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max.

You’ll also find it on the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus.

If your iPhone doesn’t have Portrait mode, don’t worry! Just skip to Section 2 below to discover how to blur photos on iPhone without using Portrait mode.

1.1 How To Blur Background On iPhone Using Portrait Mode

So, how do you use Portrait mode to blur the background in your iPhone photos?

First, open the Camera app. Then select Portrait at the bottom of the screen.

Ensure your subject is between two and eight feet from the camera. There also needs to be enough light in the scene. (Portrait mode doesn’t always work in low light.)

When you’ve composed your photo, you’ll see a yellow focus box around the subject’s face. The face will be in focus and the background will appear blurred.

When you see the words Natural Light (or Depth Effect on iPhone 7 Plus) in yellow, your iPhone is ready to shoot.

Now, simply press the shutter button to take a picture!

1.2 How To Change Background Blur In Portrait Photos

Did you know you can make changes to the background blur… after you’ve taken a photo?

If you have one of the iPhones listed below, you can easily adjust the strength of the background blur:

iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, XS, XS Max, and XR.

Open your portrait photo in the Photos app. Then tap Edit at the top right.

Tap the f/number icon at the top left.

Now use the Depth slider beneath your photo to adjust the blur strength.

A low f/number results in strong blur. And a high f/number results in less blur with more background detail.

The Depth slider isn’t available on older iPhones. However, if you’re not happy with the background blur, you can revert to the original image without any blur.

To remove the blur, tap the yellow Portrait option at the top of the screen. The depth effect will be switched off and the blur will be removed. You can switch the blur back on at any time by tapping Portrait again.

While we’re looking at the Portrait mode editing options, let’s take a look at Portrait Lighting (not available on iPhone 7 Plus).

Portrait Lighting lets you add different studio lighting effects to your portrait photos.

At the top left of the editing screen, tap the Portrait Lighting (hexagon) icon. The Portrait Lighting icons will appear beneath your photo.

Swipe across the Portrait Lighting icons (cube icons) at the bottom of the photo.

Natural Light doesn’t modify the lighting in any way. Studio Light brightens your subject’s face. Contour Light adds shadows for more defined facial features.

Stage Light turns the background black. Stage Light Mono is the same as Stage Light, but with a black and white effect. High-Key Light Mono creates a black and white photo with a white background.

When you’ve chosen a Portrait Lighting effect, use the slider to adjust the strength of the light.

When you’ve finished editing your portrait photo, tap Done to save the changes.

2. Get Closer To Your Subject For Amazing Background Blur

Do you want to know how to take pictures with blurred background on iPhone… even if you don’t have Portrait mode?

Here’s a simple trick for getting incredible background blur:

Get closer to your subject.

It’s that simple!

Shooting with the camera close to the subject creates a shallow depth of field.

A shallow depth of field means only a small portion of the image is in focus. The rest of the image will be blurred out.

The closer you get to the subject, the shallower the depth of field will be.

So for really blurry backgrounds, you’ll need to get really close.

However, if you get too close, the camera won’t be able to focus at all. And your subject will appear blurred.

So always check that your subject is in sharp focus. If it isn’t, move a bit further away and try taking the photo again.

For extreme close-up photos, you’ll need an add-on macro lens, such as the Moment Macro Lens.

A macro lens allows the camera to focus at very close distances.

You can take amazing close-up photos of flowers, insects, and nature with a macro lens.

When shooting up close, it’s important to ensure the correct part of the scene is in focus.

You want your foreground subject to be sharp and the background to be blurred.

Luckily, it’s easy to set the iPhone camera focus.

In the Camera app, simply tap the screen where you want the focus to be set. A yellow box will indicate the focus point.

If the background doesn’t look blurred, move a bit closer, then tap to set focus again.

Remember, the closer you get, the blurrier the background will be!

3. Blur The Background Of A Picture In Editing

As you’ve discovered, taking photos with a blurred background is easy.

But what if you don’t capture a blurry background… and then decide the photo would look better if it was blurred?

This isn’t a problem!

Because you can use an editing app to blur the background after taking a picture.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to blur the background of a picture using the AfterFocus app.

3.1 Select Your Foreground Subject & Background

Open AfterFocus, then tap Select Photo at the bottom of the screen. Tap on the photo you want to edit.

Some helpful tips may appear on the screen after opening your image. Swipe across to read the tips, then tap the X at the top left to exit.

The first step is to use the Smart Selection tools to select the subject and the background.

Tap the Focus icon at the bottom of the screen. Now, use your finger to draw a line inside the area you want to keep in focus.

You don’t have to be too precise. Just roughly mark out the foreground subject that you want in focus.

Next, tap the Background icon. Draw a line over the background that you want to blur. When you release your finger, the foreground will be highlighted with a red mask.

The red area with white lines is the part of the image that will remain in focus. The black line indicates the area that will be blurred in the next step.

However, before you blur the background, you need to check whether the app has selected your subject accurately.

Is part of your foreground subject not highlighted in red? Or does part of the background appear red? If so, you’ll need to fix this so that only the background gets blurred.

In the example above, you can see that the top of the cycle helmet hasn’t been selected.

You can try drawing more lines to mark the foreground and background areas. But this doesn’t always produce perfect results.

If you can’t achieve an accurate selection with the Smart Selection tools, you’ll need to switch to Manual Selection mode. To do this, tap the Pencil icon at the top of the screen.

Zoom in by pinching with two fingers. Then check the edges of your selection carefully. Use two fingers to drag the image while zoomed in.

Tap the Brush Size icon, then select a suitable brush size for the area you want to select. Now, select either the Focus or Background icon, then brush over the subject or background that you want to select.

Remember, you need to be precise when using the Manual Selection tools. Any area that you brush over will be selected.

If you make a mistake, tap Undo (curved arrow) at the top of the screen. Or switch between the Focus and Background icons to repaint an area you selected by mistake.

When you’ve finished, the red mask should only be on the foreground subject that you want in sharp focus. The neater you make your selection, the more realistic it will look when you apply the blur effect.

When you’ve made a neat selection, tap the arrow at the top right. The background of your photo will now appear blurred!

If you notice a mistake with your selection, tap the single left arrow at the top of the screen. You can then adjust your selection by brushing with the Focus and Background tools. When you’ve finished, tap the right arrow to return to the blur effects screen.

3.2 Customize The Blur Effect

The icons at the bottom of the AfterFocus app let you customize the blur in your photo.

Tap the Blur icon, and ensure Lens Blur is selected. Drag the slider to adjust the strength of the blur.

Below is the edited photo with a beautifully blurred background.

For comparison, below is the original image where the background is in focus. Notice how the blurred background helps to draw attention to the boy.

If you want to add a sense of movement to the scene, you can use the Motion Blur option (instead of Lens Blur).

This is perfect for moving subjects as it exaggerates the feeling of motion in your image.

Below is the image with motion blur applied to the background.

The original photo was taken while the boy was stationary. But the motion blur makes it look like he was moving quickly through the scene!

When you’ve finished editing your photo, don’t forget to save it. Tap the down arrow at the top of the screen, then tap Yes.

4. Frame Your Subject With A Dreamy Blurred Vignette

This next editing technique offers something slightly different.

Rather than blurring the entire background, you’re going to create a blurred vignette around the edges of the scene.

The blurred edges help draw attention to the central focused area. The blur acts as a frame, drawing the viewer’s eye toward the subject.

A blurred vignette also adds a dreamy quality to your photo.

Here’s how to blur photos on iPhone using the free Snapseed app:

Open Snapseed, then tap the screen to open your photo library. Select Open From Device, then tap on the photo you want to open.

Tap Tools at the bottom of the screen. Then scroll down and select the Lens Blur tool.

Two white circles will appear on your image.

Anything inside the inner circle will be in sharp focus. Anything outside the outer circle will be blurred. The area between the two circles is where the image transitions from sharp to blurred.

You can drag the circle to a different area if you wish. Or resize it by pinching with two fingers.

To adjust the blur strength, swipe up or down and select Blur Strength. Then swipe left or right to adjust the strength of the blur.

You can also adjust the Transition and Vignette Strength in the same way.

Transition adjusts how gradually the focused area transitions to blur. And Vignette Strength controls how dark the edges of your photo appear.

When you’re happy with the blur effect, tap the checkmark at the bottom right.

Save your image by tapping Export, then Save A Copy.

Below is the edited image with a dreamy blurred vignette around the edges.

For comparison, below is the original image without any blur applied. Notice how the subtle blurring in the photo above draws the eye toward the center of the frame.

Note that a blurred vignette doesn’t work well on every photo. It tends to work best went the subject is positioned centrally in the frame. And you need to have enough space around your subject to blur the edges.

But on the right photo, a blurred vignette can be very effective!

The post 4 Easy Ways To Blur The Background In Your iPhone Photos appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

1. Snapseed

Best For: Everyday photo editing

• Huge range of editing tools, yet very easy to use
• Exposure, color, and sharpening adjustments
• Crop, rotate, straighten, and perspective correction
• Selective adjustments and healing tool
• Black & white, vintage, and texture filters
• Portrait enhancement, lens blur, and vignette
• Double exposure, frames, and text
• Price: FREE

Snapseed is one of the most popular iPhone photo editing apps.

Why?

Because it’s easy to use, even though it offers a powerful collection of editing tools. It’s also completely free to download and use!

This photo editor app is suitable for both beginners and experienced iPhone photographers.

With Snapseed, you can easily improve exposure, color, and sharpness. And you can crop, rotate and straighten images.

Selective tools and brushes allow you to edit just certain parts of your image. And the healing tool is great for removing objects from your photos.

The Portrait tool is perfect for creating flawless portrait photos with smooth skin and sparkling eyes.

Snapseed also has preset filters for creating different moods in your photos.

Filters make it easy to convert your photos to black and white or create a vintage look with textures.

If you’re new to iPhone photography, Snapseed should be the first photo editor app you download. With this app, you’ll be able to create stunning edits that will dramatically improve your images.

Snapseed is available for FREE from the App Store. Unlike many other photo editing apps, there are no extra in-app purchases to pay for.

Learn how to use this amazing app in our Snapseed photo editing tutorial.

2. VSCO

Best For: Creating beautiful edits with elegant filters

• Elegant one-tap presets and effects that create the look of classic film
• Adjustable filter strength
• 200+ filters to create different looks in your photos
• Editing tools for tweaking exposure, color, and sharpness
• Filters and editing tools can be used to edit videos
• Price: FREE (subscription fee for the full collection of filters and editing tools)

VSCO (pronounced visco) is another fantastic photo editing app. In fact, it’s one of the best photo filter apps for iPhone.

The vast collection of presets and effects allow you to create the look of classic film in your iPhone photos. They’re perfect for adding a vintage feel to your images.

Unlike other apps where the filters can be overpowering, VSCO filters are subtle. Many of them have a soft, faded look for beautifully understated edits.

You can adjust the strength of the filters to suit your taste. And you can fine-tune color and exposure using the editing tools.

You can also use the same filters and editing tools to edit videos on your iPhone.

VSCO is FREE to download from the App Store. It comes with 10 free filters and a set of photo editing tools.

You can access the full range of over 200 filters, as well as additional editing tools, by paying for the VSCO X membership.

Learn how to use VSCO with our in-depth tutorials:
VSCO App Tutorial: How To Shoot & Edit Beautiful iPhone Photos
How To Use VSCO Filters To Create Beautiful iPhone Photos

3. TouchRetouch

Best For: Removing unwanted objects from your photos

• Quickly remove unwanted objects for a cleaner composition
• Remove dust spots, wires, people, and other objects
• Remove blemishes and smooth out wrinkles in portrait photos
• Duplicate objects using the clone tool
• Price: $3.99

Many photoshop apps have tools for removing objects from a photo. But this is the sole purpose of TouchRetouch. And it’s still one of the easiest and most effective apps for removing unwanted elements from your photos.

Simply use your finger to highlight the object you want to remove… then watch the object disappear! The app automatically replaces the selected object with pixels from the surrounding area.

The Blemish Remover tool is perfect for creating flawless portrait photos.

And the Line Removal tool makes it easy to remove electricity cables from your image.

It might take a few attempts to remove complex elements. But TouchRetouch makes it easy to start over if you’re not happy with the results.

TouchRetouch is available for $3.99 on the App Store.

Click here for the ultimate guide to removing objects from your photos with TouchRetouch.

Or click here to discover more of the best photo retouch apps!

4. Carbon

Best For: Creating stunning black & white photos

• 58 one-tap black & white filters
• Adjustable filter strength
• Textures for creating vintage-style photos
• Light leaks and bokeh effects
• Subtle and artistic color effects
• Editing tools for adjusting light and color
• Price: FREE (in-app purchases for additional filters and tools)

Do you want to create beautiful black and white iPhone photos? Then Carbon is the perfect app for you.

With a single tap, you can turn a color photo into a stunning black and white image.

Carbon has 58 preset filters with different black and white effects. So you can always find a style to suit your photo.

The app has filters for creating unique vintage effects, such as grungy textures, grain, light leaks, and bokeh. You can also add different colors to your image – from subtle sepia tones to vibrant color effects.

In addition to the one-tap presets, Carbon has a set of editing tools for fine-tuning color and exposure. You can even create a painterly effect with the “Kuwahara” tool.

If you want to create gorgeous black and white photos, you can’t go wrong with Carbon. The tools are easy to use, and the results always look great.

Carbon is FREE to download from the App Store. But you’ll need to pay to access the full range of filters and effects.

5. Adobe Lightroom

Best For: Precise fine-tuning of color and exposure

• Powerful set of editing tools within a simple user interface
• One-tap presets for quick edits
• Selective adjustment tools for advanced editing
• Healing tool for removing unwanted objects
• Price: FREE (subscription fee for premium features)

Adobe Lightroom gives you a powerful, yet simple solution for editing your photos. It’s suitable for both beginners and advanced users.

The one-tap filter presets offer a quick and easy way to enhance your images. And the simple adjustment sliders let you tweak exposure, color, and detail.

But Lightroom offers much more than this. The advanced editing tools, including selective adjustments, give you ultimate control over your edits.

If you’re familiar with editing your photos on a computer using Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, you’ll feel right at home with this app.

Adobe Lightroom is FREE to download from the App Store. But you’ll need to pay to access the premium features, such as selective adjustments, perspective correction, and the healing tool.

6. Afterlight

Best For: All-purpose photo editing with additional creative options

• Exposure, color, and sharpening adjustments
• Advanced tools such as curves, selective color, gradients, and blend modes
• Dust and light leak overlays
• Preset filters by well-known mobile photographers
• Double-exposure tool for blending images
• Layers tool for adding text and artwork
• Price: FREE (subscription fee for premium features)

Afterlight is easy to use despite its comprehensive set of editing tools.

The app offers typical editing tools such as color, exposure, sharpness, and crop tools.

But it also has advanced tools, such as curves and selective color. These allow you to fine-tune the colors and tones in your photos to get the very best out of your images.

The filters and overlays in Afterlight are great for enhancing or changing the mood in your photos. The app has over 130 filters created by well-known mobile photographers.

The customizable text and artwork offer a fun way to add graphics to your images. And the double-exposure tool lets you create unique combinations of blended images.

If you want to get more creative with photo editing, Afterlight is an excellent place to start.

Afterlight is FREE to download from the App Store. But you’ll need to pay a subscription fee to access the full range of editing tools and filters.

Click here to learn how to create unique iPhone photo edits with Afterlight.

7. Mextures

Best For: Adding vintage textures and light leaks to photos

• Grit, grain, grunge, and vintage film textures
• Analog light leaks and beautiful gradients
• Stack and blend effects using layers
• Fine-tune images with editing tools and filters
• Use and create preset “formulas”
• Price: $1.99 (in-app purchases for additional effects)

Mextures is a fantastic app for applying textures to your iPhone photos. It also has a range of other effects including grain, light leaks, and gradients.

You can add wonderful mood and visual interest to your iPhone photos in Mextures. It’s easy to create unique edits by combining and blending different effects.

The app also has filters and editing tools for fine-tuning your image.

If you’re new to Mextures, you can start by using the wide range of preset “formulas” created by other photographers. You can even create and share your own formulas.

Mextures is available for $1.99 on the App Store. It comes with a wide range of effects, but you can purchase even more for a small fee.

Learn how to use Mextures to add wonderful textures to your iPhone photos.

8. Lens Distortions

Best For: Adding sunlight, lens flares, rain, snow, and fog effects

• Add beauty and drama to your shots with natural sunlight and lens flares
• Create atmosphere and drama with rain, snow, or fog
• Frame your subject or blur the edges with elegant glass textures
• Layer several different overlays for unique effects
• Adjust opacity, brightness, and color of each overlay
• Price: FREE (in-app purchases for additional effects)

There are many apps that add light and weather effects to your photos. But Lens Distortions is one of the best.

Its high-quality overlays include sunlight, lens flares, rain, snow, and fog. There are also shimmer effects and glass elements to add sparkle or blur to your image.

For a unique look, you can layer up different effects on your image.

Sliders let you adjust the opacity, brightness, contrast, and color of each overlay. You can make the elements stand out for a bold look, or tone them down so they blend in.

Lens Distortions is available for FREE from the App Store. The app comes with a basic collection of overlays. More effects are available as in-app purchases… and they’re definitely worth it!

9. Superimpose X

Best For: Creating unique digital art by combining and blending images

• Combine two or more photos to create a composite image
• Replace the background of a photo
• Create stunning double-exposure and fantasy-style images
• Blend textures onto an image for an arty look
• Add filters, blur, shadows, and other creative effects
• Variety of masking tools for selecting parts of an image
• Price: $4.99

Superimpose X is the perfect app for combining several photos into a single composite image.

It has a good choice of masking tools for selecting different kinds of subject. You just use your finger to select the area you want to remove.

You can adjust the blend mode and opacity of each layer to control how the images blend together.

Superimpose X has a wide range of tools for editing each layer. You can use filters, shadows, gradients, light effects, and more.

With Superimpose X, the creative possibilities are endless. Your imagination is the only limit!

Superimpose X is available for $4.99 on the App Store.

Click here to discover how to use Superimpose X to blend multiple iPhone photos.

10. Instagram

Best For: Enhancing your images right before you share them

• Good selection of color and black & white filters
• Exposure, color, and sharpening adjustments
• Crop, rotate, straighten, and perspective correction
• Vignette and tilt-shift effects
• Give your photos a final polish before sharing them on Instagram
• Price: FREE

Do you share your photos on Instagram? If so, you definitely shouldn’t overlook the editing tools in this app.

Instagram doesn’t have the same range of editing tools as apps like Snapseed. But if you only want to make basic adjustments, it may be all you need.

It has a good range of color and black and white filters for changing the look and feel of your image.

There’s also a handy set of editing tools. You can adjust exposure, color, and sharpness. There are options to crop, rotate, straighten, and correct perspective. And you can add a vignette or tilt-shift effect.

If you prefer to edit your photos in a different app, you can still apply an Instagram filter just before sharing.

Instagram is available for FREE from the App Store.

Check out our in-depth tutorial on Instagram Photo Editing.

Best Photo Editing Apps: How To Choose The Right Apps For You

You’ve discovered the 10 best photo editing apps… but how do you choose the right apps for you?

Read on and let us help you decide…

If you’re new to photo editing, the best photo editor app is Snapseed. That said, it has a wide range of editing tools, so it’s suitable for more advanced users too.

If you like the idea of using one-tap filters to create classic, understated edits, VSCO is a great choice.

And Carbon is perfect for creating beautiful black and white photos.

For more advanced editing tools, such as selective color and exposure adjustments, try Adobe Lightroom or Afterlight.

TouchRetouch is a great app to have in your collection. Use it whenever you want to remove unwanted objects from your iPhone photos.

Lens Distortions is fantastic for adding realistic sunlight, lens flares, rain, snow, and fog. These effects are great for adding beauty and drama to your landscape photos.

Do you enjoy getting creative with your edits? If so, Afterlight has a good selection of creative tools.

And Mextures is the best photo editing app for adding textures and light leaks.

If you want to create truly unique artwork, including fantasy-style images and double-exposures, try Superimpose X.

Do you share your photos on Instagram? Then why not use its filters and editing tools to give your images a final polish before sharing.

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