Blur a photo’s background online
Cut the subject out onto its own layer, blur what’s behind it, and get that soft-focus portrait look — all with a slider you can see update in real time.
Open free editorStep by step
- 01
Isolate the subject
Use Remove background (AI) or the magic wand to lift the subject onto its own layer.
- 02
Blur what’s left
Select the background layer and drag the blur slider until it reads how out-of-focus you want it.
- 03
Fine-tune and export
Adjust brightness, contrast or saturation if needed, then export the finished photo.
Getting a convincing blurred background
A camera lens blurs the background because the subject is physically closer to focus than everything behind it — PhotoJam fakes the same effect by separating the subject from the background onto two layers and blurring only the one behind.
Remove background (AI) does that separation automatically for most photos; for tricky edges (hair, fur, glass), touch up the mask by hand with the brush before applying the blur, so the subject keeps a crisp edge against the softened background.
The blur slider runs from a light softening to a heavy, dreamy blur, updating the canvas as you drag it — there’s no fixed "correct" amount, it depends on how strong you want the subject to stand out.
This reads as blur, not the physically accurate depth-of-field a real lens produces — foreground objects at different distances all blur by the same amount here. A reasonable trade-off for a browser tool versus a full depth-map render.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to cut out the subject by hand?
Not usually — Remove background (AI) does it automatically; hand touch-ups are only needed for tricky edges.
Can I control how blurry the background gets?
Yes, the blur slider goes from a light softening to a strong blur, updating live as you move it.
Will the subject also blur?
No, as long as it sits on its own layer above the blurred background layer, it stays sharp.
Is this the same as a portrait-mode photo?
It looks similar but isn’t a true depth-based blur — it’s a uniform blur applied to the background layer, which is usually enough for the effect people want.