How to FAKE a Shallow Depth of Field (Sharp Subject, Blurry Background) Photo in Photoshop

A shallow depth of field can create a great effect, but it's not always possible to do the old fashion way. I previous wrote an article about trying to get a shallow depth of field naturally using your camera.  This time, I'll show you how to use a modern editing program like photoshop to make one the quick and dirty way.

Here's a photo with a moderate to small depth of field, but it's still not quite as ridiculous as we'd like. Let's open in it photoshop.

One the image is open, use the Polygonal Lasso tool (L) to trace the part you want in focus. For this tutorial I did a quick job just to show you how it's done. The more you take your time on this part, the better it's going to look. Don't be afraid to zoom in to frightening proportions (command & +).

Once you've got it selected, copy (command & c) and paste (command & v) the image as a new layer. It should paste right over the one you had selected. If it doesn't wind up in the right spot, move the layer over to where it should be by using the Move Tool (V).

This is the magic step. Select the original layer (not the one with only the subject) and select Filter > Blur > Lens Blur from the menu at the top of the screen. With our lens blur dialogue open, give the image the desired blur effect. Here I've found that 20 is an adequate blur, but if this doesn't end up looking good you can go back and change it. Remember, the more blur the more glow effect your going to get around your original object. You can always pull it back with Warp (Edit > Transform > Warp) but depending on how much there is that can get tricky.

A few minor colorizing choices later, here is our complete picture! If you're getting a lot of glow, try using warp (described above) to pull the glow behind your image. If that's not working, try using less Lens blur.

Additional Tips

• Don't forget about the Warp (Edit > Transform > Warp) tool! Try using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) to select the area you want to warp to gain even more control over the modification.
• Too much blur will make your subject glow in a rather creepy manner.