Keep in mind that the final determination of the amount of blur will be decided just a little later in the process by using the layer opacity. Here’s our image with 4% blur angle applied. Keep in mind that the true swirly bokeh from the Helios lens is generally subtle so keep the background blur in your simulated images somewhat subdued. In most cases, a very small amount of blur angle works best, say maybe 2-4%. Drag the filter out to just past each corner of the frame and then adjust the feathering accordingly.įeel free to experiment with placing the center point of the filter at different locations within your image.Īs I’ve said, the largest variable you can control when applying your swirly bokeh background is the angle of the blur, which essentially dictates the amount of perceived spin blur. Think of these dots as the way you dictate the feathering of the spin blur effect as it approaches the edges of the filter. How close the blur comes to the edges of the filter is controlled by the four larger dots shown here:

You can click and drag the outside of the filter to control its size and shape. Adjust the Size and Feather Amount of the Filter Do this by adjusting the size and shape of the blur filter itself. Before you decide on how much blur you want to introduce to your image you first need to decide where you want the blur effect to be applied.

Think of the blur angle as the control for the degree of swirl in the background. This is how you will control the amount of simulated blur in your image. You’ll notice quite a few options here in the spin blur gallery the most important of which is the Blur Angle slider. Next, go up to menu bar you looked at earlier and go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Spin Blur… This will open up the blur gallery and it is here where you’ll do the actual blurring. Feel free to rename the duplicate layer as I’ve done here to help you keep track in case you’re working with more layers. Make a duplicate copy of the background layer by using the keyboard shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+J. You will use the Spin Blur Filter to give you that dreamy understated swirly bokeh background for which Helios lenses are so favored.Īfter you’ve got your image opened in Photoshop it’s time to begin the effect. The key player in this edit will be a hidden little tool, or rather a filter, buried inside of the Blur Gallery portion of the Filter menu bar at the top of the window. Not only do swirly backgrounds complement images like these more so than others, but having easily identifiable borders between your subject and the background will make things much easier on you during the processing. This is the example we’ll be using for the demonstration. Look for images with isolated subjects that can be easily separated from the background. The same is true for images you choose to simulate the “Helios effect” in Photoshop. This means that just like any other time you want to blur out a background, the further you can place your subject from the objects behind it the more blurred the background will become.

The charm of the Helios lens comes from separating the subject from the background with style. You can do it right inside of Photoshop – here’s how. If you don’t happen to have a Helios lying around (they’re actually quite cheap) then I hope you will consider learning how easy you can simulate that swirly bokeh of this nifty little lens. Image by Mike Newton made with a Helios lens.

Best swirly bokeh lens