Adding Blur (and Lens Blur Simulation) to An Image in Aperture 3
Usually I like to make my images as sharp as possible, but sometimes I prefer to add a bit of blur to a whole image, and that’s no problem with Aperture 3. Wait a second, Aperture doesn’t have a Blur tool, how is that possible? We just combine a bit of a Quick Brush and a little interface trick and it’s a no-brainer to make a image-wide blur effect.
Start With an Image
The first step, naturally, is ti pick an image. In my final image I’m going to want to have a partial blur for this photo, but we’ll pass through our blur-all trick to get there.
Make a Quick Brush
From the Adjustments menu under the Adjustments panel, select Quick Brushes and then Blur.
Blur Controls
This will activate the Blur HUD (heads-up-display) that controls the Blur brush. Normally we’d paint a blur effect onto this image, but int his case I want to blur the whole thing, without having to paint over my whole image so from the Action Menu (it looks like a gear) select Apply to entire photo.
A Soft Blur
We’ve now added a blur to this whole image in a single click. At this point I might be finished if all I had wanted to do was blur my image, but I’m going to use a bit of a bonus trick here.
Erase
From the Blur HUD I’ll select the Eraser tool, and brush out anything that I want to be in focus.
Voila!
And now we’ve got an image with a nice simulation of a Lens Blur.
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Author: David Schloss
David Schloss is the director of the Mac Create Network and the Aperture Users Network, a professional photographer, writer, editor and photographic educator who specializes adventure sports, travel and lifestyle photography. Schloss is the author of the books Blue Pixel Personal Photo Coach: Digital Photography Tips from the Trenches and Blue Pixel Guide to Travel Photography: Perfect Photos Every Time. Schloss is the former Technical Editor for Photo District News, a position he held for six years.
