Action Zoom Blurring Effect In Photoshop
Written by Steve Patterson.
In this
Photoshop Effects tutorial, we’ll learn how to add some action and a sense of motion to a photo with a
zoom blur effect. We’ll use Photoshop’s
Radial Blur filter to add the initial blurring, then we’ll bring back some of the original image using a
layer mask and the
Gradient Tool.
Not only is this a great (and popular) way to help bring an image to
life, but the entire effect can be completed in less than five minutes
once you’re comfortable with the steps.
Here’s the photo I’ll be using for this tutorial:
The original image.
Here’s how it will look after adding the blur effect:
The final “action zoom” effect.
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer
The first step in creating our action zoom effect is to duplicate the
Background layer so we can work on a separate copy of the image, which
will allow us to bring back some of the original image later. With our
photo newly opened in Photoshop, if we look in the Layers panel, we can
see that we currently have one layer, the Background layer, which is the
layer than contains our photo:
The original image appears on the Background layer in the Layers panel.
To duplicate the Background layer, go up to the
Layer menu in the
Menu Bar at the top of the screen, choose
New, and then choose
Layer via Copy. Or, for a faster way to duplicate a layer in Photoshop, use the keyboard shortcut
Ctrl+J (Win) /
Command+J (Mac):
Go to Layer > New > Layer via Copy, or press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac).
Either way you choose tells Photoshop to make a copy of the layer,
and if we look again in the Layers panel, we can see that we now have
two layers. The original Background layer is on the bottom, while a
brand new layer named "Layer 1" sits above it. If we look at the
preview thumbnails
to the left of the layer names, we can see that both layers contain the
same image, which means we can now do whatever we want to the image on
"Layer 1" and the original photo will remain safe and unharmed on the
Background layer below it:
An exact copy of the image now appears on “Layer 1″ above the Background layer.
Step 2: Apply The Radial Blur Filter
With “Layer 1″ selected in the Layers panel (it should be highlighted in blue), go up to the
Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose
Blur, and then choose
Radial Blur:
Go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur.
This brings up Photoshop’s Radial Blur dialog box. The Radial Blur
filter gives us a choice of two different types of blurring – Spin and
Zoom. Since we’re creating a zoom effect, set the
Blur Method option on the left side of the dialog box to
Zoom. Directly below the Blur Method option is the
Quality option. Choose
Best for the quality.
We control how much blurring is applied to the image with the
Amount
option at the top of the dialog box. The higher the Amount value we
select, the more blurring is applied. Drag the slider towards the right
to increase the Amount value, or drag it towards the left to decrease
it. Unfortunately, the Radial Blur filter doesn’t give us a preview of
the effect, so you’ll probably need to try a few different values before
you find the one that works best for your image. I’ll explain how to do
that in a moment. I’m going to set my Amount value to 50, but the value
you end up choosing may be different.
Finally, use the
Blur Center box on the right side
of the Radial Blur dialog box to set the point where the blur will
appear to be "zooming" out from. Simply click inside the box to set the
point. Again, there’s no way to preview the effect before running the
filter so be prepared to try a few times before you get it right. I want
my blur effect to appear to be coming from behind the girl’s head, so
I’m going to click above and to the right of center in the box to set my
point.
Set the blur type, quality, amount and "zoom point".
Click OK when you’re done to exit out of the dialog box. Depending on
the speed of your computer, as well as the size and complexity of your
image, you may need to wait a bit for Photoshop to finish applying the
blur, so don’t panic if it seems like nothing is happening. After
waiting a few seconds for Photoshop to do its thing, here is my image
with the zoom blur applied:
It may take a few tries before you get the results you want with the Radial Blur filter.
If you’re not happy with your initial blur results and want to try again, first undo the filter by going up to the
Edit menu at the top of the screen and choosing
Undo Radial Blur. Or, for a faster way to undo the filter, use the keyboard shortcut
Ctrl+Z (Win) /
Command+Z (Mac):
Undo the blur effect with Edit > Undo Radial Blur, or press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac).
Then, to quickly bring the Radial Filter dialog box back up, press
Ctrl+Alt+F (Win) /
Command+Option+F
(Mac). Choose a different Amount value and/or set a different point for
the zoom effect in the Blur Center box, then click OK to run the filter
again. You can undo and redo the filter as many times as you need until
you get the results you want.
Step 3: Add A Layer Mask
The problem with our blur effect is that it’s covering up the entire
image, which isn’t really what we want. In my case, the blur effect is
distorting the girl’s face, so I want to hide the effect in that part of
the image and allow the original photo to show through. We can do that
easily using a layer mask. With “Layer 1″ still selected, click on the
Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. It’s the icon that looks like a rectangle with a round hole in the center of it:
Click on the Layer Mask icon.
Nothing will appear to happen in the document window, but a layer
mask thumbnail appears to the right of the preview thumbnail for “Layer
1″ in the Layers panel, letting us know that we’ve added our layer mask.
If you look closely at the thumbnail, you’ll see a white highlight
border around it, which tells us that the layer mask, not the layer
itself, is selected:
The highlight border around the layer mask thumbnail tells us that the mask, not the layer, is selected.
Step 4: Select The Gradient Tool
We’re going to draw a black-to-white gradient on the layer mask to
hide part of the blur effect and create a nice, smooth transition
between the effect on “Layer 1″ and the original image on the Background
layer below it. To draw the gradient, we’ll need Photoshop’s
Gradient Tool, so select it from the
Tools panel. You can also select the Gradient Tool by pressing the letter
G on your keyboard:
Select the Gradient Tool.
Step 5: Select The Black to White Gradient
With the Gradient Tool selected,
right-click (Win) /
Control-click (Mac) anywhere inside the document window to quickly bring up the
Gradient Picker. Click on the
Black to White gradient to select it. It’s the third gradient from the left, top row:
Click on the Black to White gradient in the Gradient Picker to select it.
Click anywhere outside of the Gradient Picker to close out of it when you’re done.
Step 6: Select The Radial Gradient
By default, the Gradient Tool is set to draw a standard linear
gradient, but we also have different styles to choose from, all of which
can be selected from the
Options Bar at the top of the
screen. You’ll see a row of five icons, each one representing a
different shape for the gradient (Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected, and
Diamond). Select
Radial Gradient by clicking on its icon (second one from the left):
Select the Radial Gradient.
Step 7: Drag Out A Radial Gradient To Hide Part Of The Blur Effect
I want to allow the girl’s face to show through the blurring effect,
so with the Gradient Tool, the Black to White gradient and the Radial
Gradient style selected, I’ll click in the center of her face to set my
starting point for the gradient. Then I’ll simply drag my mouse towards
the left until I’m just beyond her hair. The area in between the
starting and end points of the gradient will become a smooth transition
area between the blurring effect on "Layer 1" and the original image on
the Background layer below it. Since I’m drawing a radial gradient, the
gradient will extend 360° around my starting point (which means it
doesn’t really matter which direction you drag from the starting point),
creating a circular shape with black in the center and gradually
changing to white as it extends out in all directions:
Drag out a Radial Gradient across the area where you want to hide the blur effect and reveal the original photo underneath.
Since we drew the gradient on the layer mask, not on the layer
itself, we don’t see the gradient in the document window. Instead, we
see the results of the gradient on the layer mask. The girl’s face is
now visible through the blurring effect:
Drawing the gradient on the layer mask reveals part of the original image underneath.
Even though we can’t see the gradient in the document window, we
can
see it if we look at the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers panel. The
black area represents the part of the layer that’s now hidden from view.
As the gradient becomes lighter towards the edges, more of the layer
becomes visible. The white areas are where the layer is completely
visible:
The layer mask thumbnail shows us the radial gradient we added.
If you’re not happy with your initial gradient, simply press
Ctrl+Z (Win) /
Command+Z (Mac) to undo the gradient, then try again.
Step 8: Lower The Opacity To Fine-Tune The Results
If you find that your blur effect is too strong, you can reduce its
intensity by lowering the opacity of “Layer 1″. Lowering the layer’s
opacity value will allow more of the original image on the Background
layer below it to show through. You’ll find the
Opacity
option in the top right of the Layers panel. Keep an eye on your
document window as you adjust the opacity to judge the results. I’m
going to lower mine down to around 70%:
Lower the opacity of “Layer 1″ to reduce the intensity of the blur.
And with that, we’re done! Here, after fine-tuning my results with the Opacity option, is my final “action zoom effect” result:
The final photo effect.
And there we have it!