Motion blur can make your main subject seem frozen in time. Adding it in Photoshop is simple, as you will find in this article.
Motion blur photography is a great way to create dynamic images. Usually, a photo can only capture one moment in time. However, with the help of motion effect, the photographer can tell a whole story. They can show a busy street or a passing car. Not to mention it looks amazing.
But not everyone has a professional camera that can facilitate this effect. And even if you have a great camera on your phone, you may not know how to create motion blur with it. This tutorial will teach you how to add motion blur after the fact.
How to add motion blur using Photoshop
Photoshop has a variety of blur options. You can use the program to mask faces or text, or you can blur the background to make the person stand out. In this guide, we will focus specifically on motion blur to create dynamic images.
Create motion blur background
First, we’ll show how to create a blurry background. In the example we chose below, you can see that the cyclist is actually standing still. With the help of motion blur, we’ll make it look like it’s going fast, with a sizzling background.
- Open your photo in Photoshop.
- In the Layers menu on the right, tap Lock Code To turn the background into a layer.
- go to the Select > Theme.
- press W to use the Quick tool selection If you need to add or remove pixels from the selection (Alt-click will remove the sections).
- go to the Select > Inverse.
- pick or pick Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.
- In the pop-up window, you can change a file distance: after To make the movement appear faster. with corner-You can adjust the movement if the target is going downhill or up the slopes.
- press yes and then Select > Deselect Let’s be impressed by the results.
Another common way to use this effect is when you have someone standing in front of a train or bus. Even if the car is still in the picture, you can make it look like it’s moving.
Create motion blur for motion
In some situations, you may want to create a more complex motion blur. For example, when several movements occur at the same time. Or when you only want the opacity to affect a small portion of the image.
In the following example, we wanted the image to look like the dancer was tossing the skirt in real time rather than a completely static image. Therefore, we used a file track blur a tool:
- As before, open your photo and tap a lock in Layers.
- Right-click on the layer and choose Convert to a Smart Object.
- Like the first example, you’ll need to go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Path Blur.
- press delete To remove the automatically generated blur.
- Click on the screen to create the direction you want the object to move. Double click to finish the path. You can add as many tracks as you like if the person is, for example, moving their head in one direction and their hand in the opposite. You can also curve paths to create a circular motion. In our example, we wanted to blur the skirt up.
- press yes at the top of the screen.
- In the Layerstap on smart filters.
- go to the brush tool. change the hardness to 30% and make the volume bigger as well.
- Make sure the brush color is black.
- Navigate to the parts of the image that you want to stay in focus. In our case, we just wanted the skirt to appear blurry while the dancer stayed still. So, we cleaned her body, her feet, and the floor – and left the rest in a blur.
You can manipulate this effect to add movement to a variety of situations. It is especially useful in situations where there is movement in real life, but the photo was taken with a fast shutter and looks quite steady.
The beauty of motion blur images
We hope this guide gives you all the information you need to add motion blur after the fact with Photoshop. You can see that even if photography isn’t your thing, you can create dynamic images that look professional. Or even as a photographer, you can play with the photos long after you take them.
Moreover, you can use this effect to produce unique and artistic photos. If you add motion blur to unexpected parts of the image, it might look like something out of a horror movie or fantasy novel.