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GIMP blur background

GIMP blur background

Introduction to GIMP blur background

In this article, we are going to learn how to blur background in GIMP. You might have used portrait mode in a mobile camera, which keeps the subject in focus and makes other things out of focus. Though the actual blur can be done by any blur methods such as gaussian blur, for example, but while performing blur on background, the main thing is to keep the subject in focus while blurring the background. We will be doing this in GIMP with the help of a plugin named resynthesizer which will give us some filters to work with. This technique gives a professional look to your images and, at the same time, reduces distractions.

Steps of GIMP blur background

Different are steps mentioned below:

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Step 1: First, we will need some stock images, which you can download from any stock image site like Unsplash or pixels. Download an image with the subject in the foreground with background is in focus.

Step 2: Next, we will go to https://github.com/bootchk/resynthesizer/blob/master/README.md to download a GIMP plugin Resynthesizer_v1.0-i686.zip from the windows link. Once the file is downloaded, extract it.

GIMP blur background output 1

Step 3: Then open GIMP and go to Edit -> Preferences and navigate to the Plugin section to find the location of the plugins.

GIMP blur background output 2

Step 4: Copy the path and paste in the explorer and then copy the extracted files of the Resynthesizer plugin into the GIMP plugin path.

GIMP blur background output 3

Step 5: Restart GIMP and check the Filter -> Enhance to find new options.

GIMP blur background output 4

Step 6: Now, open the image in which you want to blur the background in GIMP

GIMP blur background output 5

Step 7: Now duplicate the existing layer by right-clicking or clicking on the layers panel icon.

GIMP blur background output 6

Step 8: Rename the first layer to “model removed” and second to “original.”

GIMP blur background output 7

Step 9: Then, use the lasso or free select tool and draw the lasso loosely around the model. You can add and remove from selection by selecting other options if you have made a mistake.

GIMP blur background output 8

Step 10: Then go to Filters -> Enhance -> Heal Selection. Note that if you do not install the plugin as shown in previous steps, this option will not be shown.

GIMP blur background output 9

Step 11: Set the parameters as shown, which is context sampling width to 150px, and the filling order will be inwards toward the center.

GIMP blur background output 10

Step 12: Since we do not want the color from the model to blur outside of it, so we perform this step which gives us some rough approximation of the background in this space.

GIMP blur background output 11

Step 13: Duplicate the original image on top of the model removed layer. Also, keep a copy of the original just in case if you want to compare it to the original image.

GIMP blur background output 12

Step 14: Next, we use the foreground select tool to select the model loosely as shown and close the loop.

GIMP blur background output 13

Step 15: Once the selection is made and you have covered the entire model, then press enter. You can see that now the mouse pointer is changed to a paint tool.

GIMP blur background output 14

Step 16: Now start painting the model, which is the foreground object and anything in the blue area is the background. Get a good coverage of foreground, but it doesn’t need to be exact. Once done, press enter. Also, make sure that the brush has feathered edges selected, which will give a more realistic blend of background and foreground.

GIMP blur background output 15

Step 17: You can do the fine adjustment now by adding the parts to the foreground if you have missed them.

GIMP blur background output 16

Step 18: You can also look at a grayscale version if you want to preview it like that.

GIMP blur background output 17

Step 19: You can also draw on the background if it is added in the foreground.

output 18

Step 20: Again, you can do fine adjustments using draw on the foreground and background options.

output 19

Step 21: As shown, first, the foreground select tool has selected more in the background than need, so we have adjusted by drawing in the foreground. After you finish adjusting, press enter, and the foreground object will be selected.

output 20

Step 22: Now select the original layer and right-click to add a layer mask.

output 21

Step 23: Make sure the selection is checked in the options, and the invert mask is unchecked. This will mask everything from this layer except the subject in the selection.

output 22

Step 24: Press ctrl + shift + a if you have still selected the subject, which will deselect it and then select the “model removed” layer and then add a blur using Filters -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur

Output 23

Step 25: Set size x and size y to 15 to get a proper background blur or shallow depth of field.

output 24

Step 26: Now select the mask to make some finer adjustments and first make sure that the foreground and background are set it to their default values of white and black. Then select the mask paint black to add to the mask and paint white to remove from the mask.

output 25

Step 27: You can press X to switch the background and foreground color and set what is masked out and what is not. So, the more time is spent on refining the layer mask and edge between the foreground and the background object; the better will be the final result for the blur background effect.

output 26

Step 28: Then create a new layer name vignette and fill with set to transparency.

output 27

Step 29: Now go to Filters -> Light and Shadow -> Vignette

output 28

Step 30: You can change the radius, softness, gamma and other parameters depending on how prominent you want your subject in focus.

output 29

Step 31: Then reduce the opacity of the vignette layer to make it look decent.

output 30

Step 33: Finally, we will export it as a jpg from the file menu to get the result.

output 31

Conclusion

In this article, we have learned how we can do blur background using GIMP. First, we have seen how to use the install resynthesizer plugin, which provides us with necessary tools and then we have selected the subject with foreground select tool and then applied the layer mask to the selection and then enhanced the mask to match to subject as close as possible and then we have finished with some post-processing effects like a vignette.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to GIMP blur background. Here we discuss the Steps of GIMP blur background and how we can do blur background. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

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