Firstly - why would we add blur to our image?
Blur the background when taking the photo
Now that we know why we would want to create this look - how do we do it?
This technical term is 'depth of field'. There are three main factors to increase and decrease the distance in front and behind the subject that is in focus. Two of them are not achievable on a smartphone - due to the hardware. We cannot zoom and the aperture (internal opening at the rear of the lens) and the lens itself are fixed and are not variable.
We can adjust the third factor to blur the background - and it is the easiest. Yay, we love easy!
We simply need to move the camera closer to the subject and where practical, have a distant background. To increase the blur - move closer to the subject. The trade-off is that you start to introduce lens distortion and people's faces start to look a little odd. You know the look - the ears start to shrink and recede! This is because objects closer to the lens look bigger and distant objects look smaller.
Portrait, Lens Blur and Live Focus Modes
Quick edit to add blur to the background using After Focus - available on iOS & Android
Add different types of blur using PicsArt app - available on iOS & Android
Control the strength and position of the blur using Snapseed app - available on iOS & Android
Some great examples shared in our community weekly theme - Blur