Creative Effects Challenge No. 146 - Background Blur Effect

[pontiac1940]

Canada goose photographed this afternoon across the road. 

[Tpgettys]

There have been several excellent implementations of this effect, and so I would like to offer a variation for increasing the depth in the image. 

Everything is exactly the same for the first 8 steps.  At steps 9 and 10, instead of modifying the mask on the blur layer, you copy the selection made in step 8 onto its own layer and move it to the top.  This will allow you to insert one or more layers between the blurred background and the foreground.  Whatever is on this new layer will appear behind the subject but in front of the blurred background.

1. Bring your image into PSE and make a copy of it (Ctrl-J). Name the new layer Blur.
   
2. Apply the Gaussian Blur filter to your new layer (Filter | Blur | Gaussian Blur...). I used a Radius of 10-20 pixels.
3. Click the Add layer mask button at the top of the Layers panel (the layer mask will be active and the colors set to the default black on white).
4. Select the Gradient tool.
5. Choose the Foreground to Background gradient, the Linear gradient type and check the Reverse box.
6. Click in the image and draw down to apply the gradient to the layer's mask (try it several times until you are happy with the result).
7. Turn off the Blur layer (click the "eye" in the layer panel) and make the background the active layer.
8. Select the subject using the Quick Selection Tool (if you use the Lasso Tool as is done in the video you will need to use Refine Edge... to clean up the selection).
9. Press Ctrl-J to put the subject on its own layer.
10. Drag the new layer to the top of the layer stack.
11. Create a new layer between the subject and blur layer and insert something "behind" the subject.
    

 

Here is an example where I put a PNG image of clouds behind the subject, and the layer stack of the file.

New Image	Layer Stack

(FYI: CleanPNG has some nice PNG files of clouds, smoke, flame, etc)

[whippet]

1st attempt.
Image from Pixabay.