
Click on the Delete option and the app will remove the area of the image you selected. In order to accomplish this you must first select the area of the image you want to blur, and then you should head over to Edit menu. You can adjust the blur level on a scale from 1 to 11, depending on how much blur you want to apply, and once you click OK, the background of your image will be blurred.Įven though the Preview app doesn't provide blur effects that will enable you to blur the image background, you can still use it to blur or delete parts of the picture you don't want others to see. Click on the Effects button and select the 'Edge Blur' feature. Once the picture is displayed right-click on it and select the Edit option to choose whether you want to preview the image in Full Screen or regular mode. The chances are that your photo already contains some blur so in order to blur the background of your image, simply click on the blurred area to clone the blurred pixels and then drag the cursor over the area of the photo you want to blur.Īll you need to do to blur an image background in iPhoto is open the photo in this app.

Click R to start using the Retouch tool, and then zoom into the area of the photo you want to blur. Open the photo in the Photos app, and then click on the Edit button located in the app's toolbar.

In order to be able to use it, you must have Mac OS X installed on your computer since older versions don't offer this remarkable tool. This is probably the most powerful tool in the Photos app because it literally allows you to remove or replace any pixel in your photo. Let's have a look at some of the built-in apps that will enable you to blur image backgrounds on your photos. You can lift that draconian limitation by paying for the paid version, but at that point you have to consider whether a free alternative like Darktable would suffice, or if it would be better to pay for something like Lighroom.How to blur the image background on Mac OS with built-in apps?Įach Mac OS version released in the last twenty years has featured an app that provides at least basic photo editing tools. If you opt for the free version of Picktorial, you're limited to just two local adjustments per JPEG, which is likely to cramp your style in your quest to perfect your photos. With advanced features like a split assistant viewer that allows you to see a zoomed-in and zoomed-out image at the same time, this would be a strong contender if it wasn't for the fact that the free version is severely hamstrung.

In the free version, you're limited to JPEG. Picktorial is an image editing app in the vein of Lightroom that includes great organizational tools and allows for non-destructive editing using RAW files, but only in the paid version. Limited editing functionality in the free version Somewhat confusing controls and interface
