How to Blur the Edges of a Photo?

Use PhotoWorks to create a dreamy or sophisticated photo effect

Download

For Windows 11, 10, 8, 7

Download

For macOS 12 and higher

How to Blur Photo Edges Without Photoshop

Have you ever thought of getting that dreamy effect for a picture of you with your significant other? You know, softening the edges of a photo in order to create that romantic and mysterious atmosphere? In this article you will learn how to blur the edges of a photo in three simple steps taking less than a minute of your time.

The good news is, there will be no selections, complicated adjustments or sophisticated procedures of any kind. It is going to be possible with a simple and user-friendly image editor called PhotoWorks. Blurring your image edges will be a few seconds task for the Vignette tool. In the end of this article you will also find a more customizable and fairly interesting tool called the Radial Filter which will help you to add more details to the fading effect you’re looking for.

Before
After
Regular photo with boring edges Edited photo with artistically blurred edges

Before and after: photo edges blurred with PhotoWorks

Does that look like something you want to achieve? Then here's a how-to for you.

How to Blur the Edges of a Photo in a Few Steps

First off, make sure to download and install the free trial version of PhotoWorks on your computer from our site here. Launch the application and drag the image you are going to work with into the photo editor’s main window. Now we are all set.

Step 1. Pick the Vignetting Tool

Go to the Tools tab and select Vignetting. The good news is – this is the only instrument we are going to use for fading the edges of your photo. You will see how simple it is.

Start PhotoWorks and open the Vignette tool

Start with the Vignetting Tool

Step 2. Choose the Shape of Blurred Edges

In order to clearly see the shape of your resulting image drag the Amount and Feather sliders all the way left. Now that it’s done, use the Midpoint and Roundness sliders in order to adjust the desirable shape of your picture edges.

Adjust your selection

Define the shape of your selection

Step 3. Blur Photo Edges

In this final step, adjust the Feather slider in order to blend the edges with the background. As for the background, you can fade the edges of your photo into black or white or somewhere in between. Use the Amount slider in order to pick up a suitable tone. And now it’s all done!

Blur the edges of your photo to your taste

Experiment with black or white background for your photo

As you can see, getting blurred edges does not take to be a genius of photo editing. With PhotoWorks, softening the edges of a photo will take less than a minute.

In case you want to know how to blur the edges of a photo in a more flexible and detailed way, check out the Radial Filter. Probably it’s what you are looking for. So here is what you can do with this powerful tool:

  • focus on any area of your image, changing the selection in terms of shape, size and placement
  • get the colors you want and make any detail of your image stand out using up to 10 adjustment sliders for light, color & tone as well as sharpness and amount of blur
  • create a contrast applying effects either inside or outside your selection
What you can do with the Radial Filter

Here's what you can do with the Radial Filter

With the Radial Filter, getting blurred edges for your image can be an adventurous creative journey. But this is not the only way it can be used. For example, it can help you to blur the background of a photo.  Who knows, maybe you might come up with your own ideas of using it?

Want to know more nifty ways of blurring your photo's edges? Take a gander at the video below for more interesting tricks and inspirational ideas:

How to blur or fade edges of a photo: easy guide

So now you know how to fade the edges of a photo. Did you notice how more sophisticated and graceful those pictures have become? Ready to try this technique with your own photos? Download PhotoWorks and try it free today.

Download
For Windows 11, 10, 8, 7
Download
For macOS 12 and higher

So these are a few easy ways to blur the edges of your image using PhotoWorks. You might also wanna to try this powerful and user-friendly photo editor for other things like changing photo background, removing unwanted details from your image or make your photos look older along with simple corrections, such as fixing overexposed photos and many others. Just spend five minutes of your time giving it a try and you’ll see how simple and convenient it is.

How to Soften Edges of Photo in Other Ways

Granted, the easy PhotoWorks or the all-mighty Photoshop aren’t the only ways to fade out the edges or corners of your images. There are a few other methods you might want to try. For instance, you can always turn to GIMP. This free picture editor has an interesting Fuzzy Border option that can give your images somewhat jagged edges.

Other ways to fade or blur photo's edges

Give your photo blurred or faded edges with an online service

If desktop softwares aren’t the way to go for you, you have at least two more options. First, opt to using an online service. Basically all you have to do is to upload your image and you’ll have it processed in an instant. If you prefer to edit images on your smartphone, then you’ll enjoy a specialized mobile app. The workflow is also simple - just open a picture in this application and paint over the edges to either blur or fade them.

Well, now you know a simple secret of how to make your photo either dreamy or exceptionally stylish. You just need to blur edges of this photo. Luckily, there are many easy ways to do that, so why wait? Give your images a much needed adjustment today.

PhotoWorks team, a dedicated group of authors and artists with a passion for photography and graphic design. We are happy to bring you first-class content to make your exploration of our software easy and enjoyable.
PhotoWorks

Blur the edges of your photo with PhotoWorks

Download fast & easy photo editor and try it for free now!

TOP
Back to top