Background blur app for iphone. How to blur background on iPhone
One of the coolest features of the iPhone 7 Plus is the portrait mode camera. Two lenses are paired with software processing to create great photos with bokeh effect.
It was originally 
That's how it happened
Blurred the background gives the photo a special charm, it seems that the picture was taken on a SLR camera with good optics.
If only for this reason you dream of the most expensive iPhone, then I hasten to please you, you can get the bokeh effect on any photo in 5 minutes. A computer and Photoshop are not required, as well as expensive applications from App Store or overhead lenses on the camera lens.
I'm ready, let's go!
To get started, we need Google's free Snapseed photo editor. Download and open the desired photo in it.
1. First, adjust the brightness and contrast to your liking. In this example, I will apply the filter faces, it recognizes people in the photo, makes faces brighter, and darkens light places in the photo a little. You can play with the settings yourself or choose one of the preset templates.
2. When all the necessary changes to the photo are made, you can start adding blur. Select the appropriate filter from the menu.
3. Change the blur mode from oval to straight (click on the circle icon in the bottom panel).
4. Set the point to the very bottom of the image so that the blur increases towards the top of the frame.
5. In the filter options, you can change the degree of blurring, smoothness of the transition, and vignetting at the edges. Set the first parameter higher if the background is too close to blur it more or less if it is far from the foreground.
The transition is adjustable by eye, but not overestimated, and vignetting will add a beautiful blackout in the corners.
6. You ask: what the hell is this, everything is blurry! Don't worry, the Snapseed magic is about to begin! Click on the menu Activity log in the top block.
7. Opening the section View changes.
8. Choosing the last filter Blur and click on edit.
9. Now we can add or remove areas that will be blurred in the image. To do this, turn on the invert mode and a mask for easy selection.
10. We zoom in with the usual gesture and begin to erase the mask from the foreground. First, you can coarsely remove everything with a large brush, and then zoom in for precise processing of the edges.
11. Carefully pass along the edge with your finger so as not to erase the mask from the background.
12. If you make a mistake, add a 100% blur with an arrow and draw a mask on the background.
If there are objects in the picture located between the foreground and the background, for example, a car, then you can set the blur to 50% or 75% and paint over this object so that the filter is not applied so much on it.
13. This is what the final mask looks like. Click on the checkbox and look at the result. Well, how?
14. Already not bad, but from below the background remains sharp. If the subject is captured larger (only the torso), then the sharpness will fall on it and everything will be ok, otherwise we will have to repeat our trick.
15. Adding a filter sharpness again, but now we place the point on top.
16. We do not turn up the intensity of the blur and increase the transition so that the center of the photo does not blur too much. Do not forget to completely remove the vignetting here, otherwise it will overlap with the previous one.
17. Again, through the Action Log, we proceed to editing the filter. We repeat the procedure with the mask.
Now that's it! You can save and post on Instagram.
My friends call me a camera snob because I prefer DSLRs and tend to turn my nose up at phone cameras. But, in recent times I fell in love with my iPhone camera and more and more often I take pictures with my phone. One obvious advantage that smartphones like the iPhone have is their portability over traditional cameras. I always have my iPhone in my pocket, while my Nikon often gathers dust at home.
But an even bigger advantage is the apps: it's very easy to add new features and functionality to the iPhone by installing free or low-cost programs. To do the same with a regular camera, you need at least a degree in electrical engineering. Last year, I wrote about five reasons why photographers should love the iPhone. The apps I already mentioned are still great, but this week I want to review five more under iOS platform which I strongly recommend.
afterfocus
MotionOne.co.Ltd
One of the reasons I usually prefer DSLRs over phone cameras is the control over shutter speed and aperture. By choosing certain aperture settings, I can create a sharp hyperfocal photo or vice versa - an image in which the subject is sharp and the background is blurry and out of focus.
Afterfocus lets you control the depth of field in iPhone photos. Actually, it doesn't let you change the depth of field while shooting, but the app mimics the depth of field by blurring the background when the shot is ready. It's fun and easy to use: just open the photo in Afterfocus and select the part of the image that needs to be sharp. Then repeat the process with the background and Afterfocus makes a version of the photo that looks like it was taken with a very shallow depth of field. What's more, you can also apply some additional effects, such as a color mask that turns the background black and white while leaving the object in color. Those 99 cents per app will be well spent.
Bump
Bump Technologies Inc.
Bump is not a photo app, it's a sharing tool with your contacts that you can use with other smartphone owners. The app uses the phone's accelerometer and distance information to simulate little magic. Press two phones together and the selected information will be automatically sent from one smartphone to another. It's cool, but it could be even cooler - you can use Bump to send photos to your work computer.
To do this, open the Bump page in a browser, and then launch Bump on your iPhone. Select one or more photos, and - at this point the most interesting - press the space bar on the keyboard with your phone. You will immediately be able to transfer photos to your computer. I have found that this works best with Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Google Chrome. And it doesn't seem to work at all with Microsoft Internet Explorer 9. This application is free.
iStopMotion for iPad
Boinx Software
iStopMotion for iPad is a interesting way creating a stop-motion video, which I have already talked about. True, last time it was about creating such videos using a DSLR. iStopMotion lets you take a series of photos with your iPad's front or rear camera, and overlaying the previous frame helps define the line of the next. This is a great time saver, especially if you're trying to capture a sequence of small movements, such as a Claymation animation, for example. If you have both an iPhone and an iPad, install the free iStopMotion Remote Camera on your iPhone. This app allows you to use iStopMotion for iPad to remotely control your iPhone's camera to shoot stop-motion videos. This whole feast of life costs $10.
Pano
Debacle Software
Do you like taking panoramas? Of course, you can always take a series of shots to glue them together when you get home and can use a program like Windows Live Photo Gallery. But why not let your iPhone take a panorama right after you take your shots? Pano is a great little gluer that guides you through the process of creating a panorama. It displays an overlay of the previous photo so that it is clear how to place the next photo in the series. When you have adjusted all the photos into a panorama (up to 16 images), the iPhone generates full view and save it to your photo folder. Pano can even create full 360-degree 360 degree panoramas. The app costs $1.99.
top camera
Lucky Clan
I saved the best for last. Top Camera is the Maserati of the iPhone photo app world. It has such a long list of features that it costs several times the $2.99 that adds up to its price tag. In addition, there is a free version with a lower resolution that you can try out to test the functionality of this application.
You'll immediately appreciate the on-screen level, which helps prevent blurred-horizon photography. You can also turn on Digital Stabilizer to reduce camera shake and take clearer pictures. In HDR High Dynamic Range mode, you can take photos by capturing a series of three images. And this application does it much better than using the native HDR mode built into the iPhone. True, it is necessary to keep the phone as still as possible while taking a series of photos. The app also features a "slow shutter" feature that allows you to take long exposure shots such as trails of light at night
However, my favorite feature in Top Camera is the ability to zoom in and out using the slider on the side of the screen.
Believe it or not, this is just a small part of what this app can do. Top Camera also allows you to use sound commands to activate the shutter and of course, timer shooting. You can adjust exposure settings such as contrast, saturation, and color balance. In addition, the application has an amazingly powerful built-in photo editor that can crop, change exposure, apply various effects and much more.
Blurry photos are more random than predictable. But in some cases, the "blur" effect helps the photographer to correctly place accents, highlight the main and secondary objects, and even tell the whole story of the picture.
Most often you will not be able to get the expected blur effect, because blur is a kind of lottery. by the most in a simple way can be called the usual defocus. This technique will come in handy for night and landscape photography, but I also use it for unusual portraits. To lock the focus, simply tap on the display where you want to focus and hold your finger for 2-3 seconds. Also consider the distance - the closer the subject of focus, the more distant subjects will be blurred. More often than not, I just fix the minimum distance to my finger or palm (depending on the lighting) and then photograph the desired scene with focus locked.
You can get blur in pictures in another way - programmatically. With recently I started using the Big Lens app for iOS, which creates a blur effect in the area of your choice. This technique is very useful in portrait and product photography, because without any problems you can correctly place accents in the photo.
There are several ways to select areas in the application: the standard for Instagram radial and linear, the "lasso" tool familiar to Photoshop users, as well as a simple manual mode in which you work with a brush. Blurring can be adjusted both with a slider and by changing the virtual aperture - the "hole" values range from f / 3.5 to f / 1.8.
Unlike a similar tool in Instagram or Snapseed, Big Lens algorithms allow you to get smoother and more accurate results. Therefore, I recommend the application to anyone who wants to get a beautiful and not very catchy background blur in portraits or product photography. And yes, experiment!
Hello friends! 🙋🏻
AppStore and Google Play they are simply teeming with a huge number of applications for every taste and color, and programs that allow are especially popular.
Not everyone has SLR cameras, and it’s not always convenient to use them, but mobile phone- always at hand. Sometimes you will take a picture or a selfie where it turned out well, but the background ruins everything. But that won't be a problem anymore! In this article, I will share with you the best, in my opinion, applications that will make even the most uncomplicated portrait irresistible - as if it was taken by a professional photographer with a cool camera. With the help of these mobile programs, you can easily and simply blur background on any photo, and add beautiful bokeh effect.
So, the applications that will be discussed below are absolute must-have for lovers of mobile photography.
Background Blur Apps for Android
Bokeh (Background defocus)
after focus
Apps to Blur Backgrounds on iOS
Please note that some iOS apps are only designed for dual camera phones. If you have a phone of an older model, then immediately download the latest application in the list!
Slor
Price: 299 rubles.
It is possible that bokeh technique is not a familiar word to you. However, it is an indispensable tool for creating professional portraits. Technological advances don't stand still, so you don't need a professional camera anymore and you don't need to be a Photoshop expert to create a bokeh effect. More to the point, you don't even need a cell phone latest model with a super camera, because you can make a beautiful portrait with a perfect background thanks to the application Slor.
When photography lovers talk about bokeh, they mean blurry background in the picture. If you take a photo with this effect, then the focus remains only on the main element of the photo, whether it be a person or some object. Using the Portrait feature on your iPhone, you can also achieve that same bokeh effect without resorting to a professional DSLR camera, but it won't be enough to get a really cool shot. This is where the app comes in handy. Slor! This program will improve any portrait and allow you to take your mobile shooting to the next level!
When you take a photo on your iPhone in Portrait mode, the phone's camera saves not only the image itself, but also information about the distance between the objects captured in the picture. It is this information that the Slør application will take into account, which will allow you to maximize the improvement of your portraits.
If you want to make the background of the photo more blurry, then just use the slider. Move the slider on the drop ruler until you get the best effect. If you want to move the focus from one object to another, then simply click on the desired object/face/person with your finger.
The application also has two other effects. The Macro effect gives the impression that your subject was small and you used the zoom to get closer to it. And here is the effect "Tilt", on the contrary, will "move" the main subject of the portrait "into" the photo.
Something like this blurred background effect you can achieve using the application Slor.
Focos(iOS only, need dual camera)
Price: Free, but there are in-app purchases
This is where I will end my list. mobile applications to blur the background of the photo. In case you missed something good app let me know in the comments.
Great photos for you! 📷
Portrait mode on the iPhone - learning how to shoot correctly.
Portrait mode on iPhone lets you take stunning photos with bokeh (depth of field). Shoot in portrait mode extremely simple, however, to achieve a truly high-quality result, you need to know some "chips". In this article, we talked about how to properly shoot in Portrait mode on iPhone, and also collected valuable tips from professional photographers.
Portrait mode on iPhone - what is it, what devices does it support?
Portrait mode lets you take photos with bokeh (depth of field) effect. This effect brings the subject into sharp focus while blurring the background beautifully. The mode allows you to shoot photos with simulated studio lighting in almost any conditions.
Portrait mode is only supported by dual camera iPhones. At the moment, the owners of the following models can use the "Portrait" mode:
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
On a single-camera iPhone, shooting with a depth-of-field effect is also possible, but only using third party applications from the App Store, for example, portraitcam , after focus or Fore Photo. Their main disadvantage is that the bokeh effect in them is implemented in software. Because of this, it is not as "live" and deep as the hardware effect created by the iPhone's dual cameras.
How to Shoot in Portrait Mode on iPhone
Step 1. Run the application " Camera» from the main iPhone screen or by swiping left on the lock screen.
Step 2: The Camera app has various shooting modes that can be accessed by swiping left or right anywhere on the interface. Select the mode " Portrait”, it is located to the right of the standard shooting mode.
Step 3. To take a good portrait shot, you need to position the camera up to 2.5 meters away from the subject. At the same time, bringing the iPhone too close to the object is also impossible. Looking ahead to the tips, it's best to shoot your subject as close as possible. Why is explained below.
The Camera app itself will help determine the optimal distance. If the subject is far from the camera, then a warning will appear at the top of the application "The distance from the subject should not exceed 2.5 meters."
If you brought the camera very close, then the notification "Move further" will appear.
It is important to note that the "Camera" allows you to shoot in portrait mode even if you are not at the optimal distance from the subject. In other words, you can ignore pop-up warnings. For example, in cases where it is not possible to step back or go forward to the object. Apple says that if you ignore the optimal distance, portrait mode shots can get bad. However, our experiments show that you can take a decent photo without strictly following the instructions of the Camera app.
Step 4 Make sure there is enough light. If the conditions are bad, then the "Camera" will notify about this with the message "Too dark". Finding another brighter location to shoot or turning on the flash will help solve this problem (we prefer and recommend natural lighting).
Step 5 When all the preparations are done, you can shoot in portrait mode. By default, the mode is set to normal natural light, but you can shoot with studio, contour, stage, or stage (mono) light if desired. Read more about the effects and their differences below.
Portrait mode on the iPhone, like any other, supports a variety of preset filters. To select them, you need to click on the icon with three overlapping circles in the upper right corner of the interface. It is important to clarify that when you select a filter, you will only be able to shoot in portrait mode using natural light (selected by default).
What is the difference between the effects in Portrait mode?
There are five effects available in Portrait mode on iPhone, allowing you to take pictures with different type Sveta. The difference between the effects is significant, each of them is best suited for specific shooting scenarios.
- Natural light - focusing on the face of the subject, blurred background. Allows you to create the highest quality close-ups human face with bokeh effect.
- Contour light - semitones with dark and light areas. It is used to emphasize the face in conditions of insufficient or artificial lighting.
- Studio light - the face of the subject is brightly lit, the image is as clear as possible. When shooting with such light, it is recommended to lower the exposure so as not to overexpose the frame.
- Stage light - the face of the object is as if illuminated by a spotlight, a rich black background.
- Stage light-mono - similar to the previous effect, but in black and white.
Portrait mode shots on iPhone are created with special artistic effects that you can and even need to experiment with. However, there are still some rules for taking high-quality photos in portrait mode.
In order to achieve the most High Quality you need to be close enough to the subject - up to 2.5 meters. The background behind the object, on the contrary, should be as far away as possible.
The greater the distance between the subject and the background, the stronger the depth effect will be.
If your subject is standing against a wall, then there will be practically no noticeable effect (stage and stage (mono) light effects are an exception).
Lighting is also important. In artificial lighting conditions, Portrait mode is far from ideal. In natural light, the mode is fully revealed, allowing you to create gorgeous shots, so it is recommended to “catch” a good light.
If you want to capture as many good shots with the effect of depth of field as possible, then be sure to use manual focus. To do this, you just need to touch the subject when shooting. The camera will immediately focus on it.
When shooting in Portrait mode on the iPhone (as with any other camera, by the way), you should try to avoid small objects in the frame that are at the same level as the subject. Such objects can break the effect of depth and completely spoil the photo. Moreover, this is what happens most of the time.
The best depth shots are simple. Look for simple compositions that let the effect really shine.
Note: about which professionals in question? When Apple first developed the Portrait mode, it offered it to professional photographers (Jeremy Cowart, Pei Ketron, Benj Heisch, and others) to try it out. The photographers appreciated Apple's design and gave valuable tips on how to create high-quality bokeh shots on iPhone.
1. Place the object with its “back” to the sun. Sunlight will be an excellent "backlight", and with it the background. The main thing is that the background and the object in this case will be clearly defined for the iPhone camera and it will not be difficult for her to separate them by applying the bokeh effect.
2. Bring the camera as close to the subject as possible. Portrait mode lets you shoot with depth-of-field effects up to 2.5 meters away, but it's best to get as close to the subject as possible to bring out the details. Note that in all of Apple's promo portrait mode photos, the subjects (most often people or animals) are directly in front of the camera. Apple photographers do it for a reason. They know that in this case the frames are amazing.
3. Reduce exposure to make the image more cinematic. Reduce the exposure should be very slightly lowering the slider just a couple of millimeters. In order to change the exposure, you need to press on the display in the Camera application, and after focusing, touch the display and slide your finger up (increase) or down (decrease).
4. The subject must not move. For perfect shooting results, make sure that the subject does not move. In the case of photographing people, it is very simple, you just need to ask them, but when shooting animals, you will have to be patient.
5. Ideal light for portrait mode - soft and diffused. Soft diffused light does not produce harsh deep shadows, which will improve the portrait and, again, help the camera to more accurately determine the subject.
You have helpful tips on shooting in portrait mode on iPhone? Share them in the comments!