Blur Background Using Snapseed

Blur Background Using Snapseed: Rather than Android, Google also offers a wide variety of products that offer to better your productivity. One product is Snapseed which is an app that can enhance images with one-touch tools. Not just this but also add filters, edit RAW photos, tune images with sliders and provides them a new look in just a matter of minutes.

No doubt smartphone cameras have come to reach the capabilities of DSLRs. However, smartphone editing also moved likewise in terms of offering users desktop-like editing functions. Pictures with bokeh effects and Portrait photography were only possible on DSLRs. But if your phone lacks that 2nd camera or if you don’t like the bokeh effect. Then you can create pictures with blurred backgrounds using Snapseed.

How to Blur Background Using Snapseed

The article below will help you create a background blur effect on your images. For your ease, we’ve categorized this section into two pieces i.e basic and advanced. So that you can select between convenience and perfection whenever you’re making an edit to your pictures. Follow the steps carefully to blur the background using snapseed:

Basic editing

Step 1:

At first, download and install the Snapseed app from Google Play.

Step 2:

Also, Open the Snapseed app.

Step 3:

Click anywhere on the app’s home screen to load a picture.

Step 4: 

Pick a picture you wish to add the background blur effect on.

Step 5(optional): 

To make the subject look better with background blur. We suggest you adding some more contrast and saturation to the image before moving on to giving it the blur effect. To do so, click on the Styles tab, select either Portrait or Smooth from the options and then click on the tick mark at the bottom right to apply the style.

Step 6:

Click on the Tools tab from the bottom.

Step 7:

Choose the Lens blur tile from the menu.

Step 8: 

Determine the shape of the blur by clicking the highlighted icon at the bottom. You can also select between linear or elliptical blur depending upon the subject in your image or the shape of your subject.

Step 9:

After selecting the type of blur, move this blur mask to the center of the subject by pressing and holding the blue dot and then dragging it to the subject.

Step 10:

Next, you’ll have to adjust the size of the blur mask by pinching in and out. So that only the subject is covered with the blur area.

Step 11: 

Also, Adjust the blur strength by swiping left or right to increase and reduce/ minimize the intensity of the blur.

Step 12: 

Now adjust the size of the transition area by swiping up on the screen. You can do this until Transition is highlighted and the sliding left or right side to modify the values of the transition area.

What is the Transition area? Do you know?

It is the area between the inner and outer circle that provides you a subtle change in the blur effect for the area surrounding the subject.

Step 13:

However, adjust and apply the Vignette effect to your blurred image. Simply by swiping up on the screen till Vignette strength is highlighted and then swipe to left or right if you like to decrease or increase the intensity of the Vignette effect on the image.

Step 14:

Click on the tick mark icon at the bottom right corner to apply the changes.

Step 15:

To save the edited picture, Click on the Done. You can also send this image directly from Snapseed by clicking on the Share icon at the top.

That’s it. All done! You”ve created a picture with background blur in the simplest way possible. For those who want to do a little more editing to the blur effect on their images, the following article helps you out of this.

Advanced Editing

However, the above method offers to enables you to add a blur effect to backgrounds. Also, it fails to define the shape of your subject perfectly. To increase the effectiveness of the blur, just follow these steps.

Step 1:

Firstly, follow steps 1 through 7 from the basic editing guide above.

Step 2:

Besides keeping the blur area large, pinch inward to make sure the blur mask is smaller than the subject in your image.

Step 3:

Once done, click on the mark at the bottom right.

Step 4:

Click on the Edit stack button at the top.

Step 5:

Also, choose View edits from the pop-up menu.

Step 6:

Click on the Lens Blur box and then choose the Stacks Brush tool.

Also, it ensures that the Lens Blur value at the bottom is set to 100.

Step 7:

However, carefully brush the area over the subject that you like to add color to. After starting brushing, the area will be highlighted in red.

For the good results, you can also zoom in to the picture to brush the area around the edges of the subject. Also, Zoom out of the image to check how the brush image looks in the original view.

If you want to brush in an unwanted region, you can go back to erasing the region by adjusting the Lens Blur effect to zero. Also, brushing over the mistakingly shaded region and modifying the value back to 100.

Continue brushing until the whole subject is highlighted in red.

Step 8:

After brushing the whole subject, click on the Invert icon at the bottom.

While doing so, Snapseed will now invert the mask area. However, thus highlighting all the areas in red except for the subject that you brushed over.

Step 9:

Click on the tick mark at the bottom right to confirm the editing.

You’ll now have an image applied with the Lens Blur effect.

Step 10:

Move back to the main edit screen by clicking the back arrow at the top left.

Step 11: 

To save the edited picture, click on the Done. You can also send these images directly from Snapseed by clicking on the Share icon at the top.

That’s it! All done. Now you’ve successfully created your picture using the Lens Blur effect. Also, try out the effect on other images from your gallery. Don’t be disappointed if the picture can’t pan out like you thought it would.

Conclusion: