How to Add Blur to Your Photos With Image-Editing Software

Who says that a blurred shot doesn't make for a great photo? Most image editing software packages, among them Photoshop, Paint.NET, and Picasa 3.9, include a variety of blur options for photographs. Blurring options are effective for photos that have moving objects, or even those that are more static. These are a few of the editing options for blurring your photographs.

Motion Blur

Motion blur is a standard editing option included with photography software. Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects. Let's suppose that you have a photograph of an aircraft in the air, perhaps then a touch of streaking motion blur could be added.

To apply motion blur to your photograph with Paint.NET, first open the photo by selecting File and Open. Then click on the Effects, Blurs, and Motion Blur. That should open a small Motion Blur window.

From this window, you can add the motion blur. Drag the distance bar a little to the right to add some blur to the photo. Note the angle circle with which you set an angle for the blur. That should match the angle of the moving subject. Click OK to apply the blur to the photograph.

Zoom Blur

An alternative to motion blur is that of zoom blur, or focal zoom. That is also a fairly standard editing option included with photography packages. This option adds zoom blur around a central point of the photo, as if zooming in toward the image. Zoom blur can give the photograph a little more pizzazz and impact. To be effective, the photo must have a clear central point to zoom into. For example, the center of a flower petal might be suitable.

Open that photo with a software package such as Picasa 3.9. Select the image for editing, and then click on the fifth tab. From there, select the Focal Zoom option.

With this option, you should then place a cross in the center of the photo overlapping the central point. Drag the Focal Size bar left or right to increase or decrease the size of the central point that is not blurred. Drag the Zoom bar to the right to increase the amount of zoom blur around the central point. Drag the Fade bar a little to the right so that the blur blends with the background. Click the Apply option to add the zoom blur to the photograph.

Soft Focus

Google Picasa 3.9 also has a Soft Focus option, which is similar, but not the same. The option softens and blurs the photo around a central point. As such, the surrounding photo is only a little blurred and out of focus. It is added to blur out the surrounding background, whilst keeping the center in focus.

To add this to a selected photo, select the first brush tab from Picasa's editor. From that tab, click on the Soft Focus option. That option includes a size and amount bar. The size bar can be dragged right to increase the size of the central point that is not softened. When you drag the amount bar to the right, it will increase the blur around the center of the photo.

In the center, there is a cross which you can drag and drop to alternative positions. However, it should remain close to the center of the photograph. If it's too small, expand the circle with the size bar. Click Apply to add the editing to the photo, or Cancel to close without applying.

Radial Blur

The radial blur editing option is one that adds a circular blur to the photograph. It is ideal for photos that include rotating circles, such as the cartwheel firework photograph below. You can add radial blur to your photos with the Paint.NET software package. Select Effects, Blurs, and then Radial Blur. The angle of the radial blur is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the angle number. Click OK to add the radial blur to the photograph.

Those are just four of the various blurring options that can be added to photographs. Add them to give central points in photographs more impact, or to highlight the motion of moving objects.