How to Blur Background in Lightroom For Free in 2025 – Step-by-Step Guide
Do you want to increase the attention of viewers towards the focus subject in your photograph by disguising unwanted elements from the background? Don’t worry! Cutting-edge tools in Lightroom will allow you to blur backgrounds in a customizable manner. But you need to know how to blur background in Lightroom for free through an easier tutorial, and this article will prove to be very helpful for this purpose.
After reading the guide on this article you can effortlessly blur the background of your images whether you’re using it on your PC, Android, or iPhone. I’ll discuss some classic and modern methods to blur the background in Lightroom; those will be equally beneficial for both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC users.
How to Blur Background in Lightroom Mobile?
Whether you’re using Lightroom on your iPhone or Android, you need to follow the following steps to blur the background of your photograph:
Step 1: Import Image
The first step is to import the image into Lightroom mobile that you want to edit, and for this purpose, you’ve to click on the icon in the bottom right corner in blue color. Through a camera-shaped icon, you can directly capture an image through the camera while by clicking the icon with a picture and plus sign, your mobile folders will open. Select the folder in which your photo is saved, pick the image and upload it into the Lightroom app.
Step 2: Navigate to the Masking Tool
After importing the image, make sure that it’s in the edit mode. For blurring the background of an image, it’s essential to separate the focus subject from the background to blur only selected parts of the photograph, and for this purpose, you’ll use the “ Masking” tool. So, for this purpose, click on the icons of the masking tool located at the left side of the lower panel tools.
After activating the masking mode, you’ll see a + icon in blue color to create a new mask. So click on it. In the next panel, you’ll find numerous options, including Select Subject, Select Sky, and three tools to blur the background, including Brush, Linear Gradients, and Radial Gradient.
Using the Brush tool, you can paint over a specific area. Linear Gradient will allow you to apply a gradual blur in a straight line across the picture while using Radial Gradient, you can apply a circular blur effect. Moreover, you can select the option “ Select Subject” if you want to automatically select the main subject.
Step 3: Invert the Mask
After selecting the subject using different making tools, the next step is to invert the mask from subject to background because our purpose is the blur area excluding background, so we’ll invert the mask. To do it you need to click on the invert icon located at the left side panel on the top of the trash icon. After clicking on that icon, you’ll notice that the entire area is selected except for the focus subject.
Step 4: Apply Effects
After inverting the mask press the “Effects” option located at the bottom tool panel, and a new section will open with three different features, including Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze. Using these tools, you can remove texture and clarity from the background. So, reduce the texture slider to -61 and the clarity slider to -41. Similarly, you’ll decrease the dehaze to -15. The intensity of blurriness is directly related to the negative scale of Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze.
Step 5: Subtract From Mask 1
The next step is to click on the mask panel located at the bottom of the + blue icon, and a pop-up will appear having the option “ Subtract from Mask 1,” so press on it. It will make possible to blur only the desired subject that you have selected through the masking tool.
Step 6: Select Brush Tool
A new panel with some new tools will appear after subtracting the mask, and from these, you can select a brush tool to manually choose the area that you don’t want to blur. This opportunity will help you to give a natural look to the photograph after blurring it. Suppose your focused subject is sitting on a desk then you can select that desk to unblur it.
Step 7: Export Image
After getting your image blurred, you’ve to click on the icon containing a square and arrow at the top of the app screen to export it to your mobile or to directly share on different social media apps.
How to Blur Background in Lightroom PC?
As we’re discussing how to blur background in Lightroom, it’s compulsory to know how to blur the background in Lightroom Classic and CC while using it on a PC. Let’s discuss in detail:
Step 1: Import Image
Go to the library module, select the image that you want to edit and make sure that your main subject within the image is sharp and clear so that the masking tool in Lightroom can easily detect the focus subject automatically.
Step 2: Set up the Masking Tool
After importing photos make sure that you’re using the “Develop Module” of Lightroom. Here, you need to click on the “ Masking Tool,” where you will find different options, including “ Select Subject, Select Sky, Brush, Radial Gradient, and Linear Gradient.” If you’ve only one focus subject, then you can press “Select Subject.” The brush tool will allow you to manually “paint” adjustments on specific parts of the image with adjustable size and feather. Using Radial Gradient, you can create an elliptical-shaped brush to paint more area in less time, while the Linear Gradient tool will allow you to select an area in the form of a straight border.
Step 3: Paint the Background of the Subject
Paint over the background of the focus subject by using a masking tool, but make sure that “ Show Selected Mask Overlay’ is on so that you can easily judge the selected area. This option is more beneficial if you’ve two or more subjects in the photograph. Otherwise, you can select the Subject option to automatically blur the area other than the focused subject. Fine-tune the area using a brush for a natural look and you keep some elements unpainted that you like to be sharp within the photograph frame.
Step 4: Adjust The Blur Effect
After selecting the desired section through painting via brush you can adjust the Clarity and Sharpness to customize the blurry effect according to your will. There are numerous photo editing applications to blur backgrounds, but this customization option is only available in Lightroom. That’s why people want to know how to blur the background in Lightroom Classic or CC. Anyway, the option for adjusting clarity and sharpness will automatically appear after painting through the brush, and you can set it via sliders. As we’re experts in this skill, we suggest adjusting -100 for both sliders to give a professional look to your photographs.
Additional Tips to Blur Background in Lightroom
You can blur the background in Lightroom more professionally by following some additional tips:
Conclusion
We were continually receiving the query on how to blur background in Lightroom. That’s why we decided to share our practical experience for your ease. After reading this tutorial, you can effortlessly blur the background of your main subject in digital photographs via Lightroom. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using Lightroom Classic or CC on your PC. You need to follow the same method on both for the blurring background that is discussed in this article.
