Action Zoom Blurring Effect In Photoshop

Step 3: Add A Layer Mask

The problem with our blur effect is that it's covering up the entire image, which isn't really what we want. In my case, the blur effect is distorting the girl's face, so I want to hide the effect in that part of the image and allow the original photo to show through. We can do that easily using a layer mask. With "Layer 1" still selected, click on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. It's the icon that looks like a rectangle with a round hole in the center of it:

Nothing will appear to happen in the document window, but a layer mask thumbnail appears to the right of the preview thumbnail for "Layer 1" in the Layers panel, letting us know that we've added our layer mask. If you look closely at the thumbnail, you'll see a white highlight border around it, which tells us that the layer mask, not the layer itself, is selected:

Step 4: Select The Gradient Tool

We're going to draw a black-to-white gradient on the layer mask to hide part of the blur effect and create a nice, smooth transition between the effect on "Layer 1" and the original image on the Background layer below it. To draw the gradient, we'll need Photoshop's Gradient Tool, so select it from the Tools panel. You can also select the Gradient Tool by pressing the letter G on your keyboard:

Step 5: Select The Black to White Gradient

With the Gradient Tool selected, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) anywhere inside the document window to quickly bring up the Gradient Picker. Click on the Black to White gradient to select it. It's the third gradient from the left, top row:

Click anywhere outside of the Gradient Picker to close out of it when you're done.

Step 6: Select The Radial Gradient

By default, the Gradient Tool is set to draw a standard linear gradient, but we also have different styles to choose from, all of which can be selected from the Options Bar at the top of the screen. You'll see a row of five icons, each one representing a different shape for the gradient (Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected, and Diamond). Select Radial Gradient by clicking on its icon (second one from the left):

Step 7: Drag Out A Radial Gradient To Hide Part Of The Blur Effect

I want to allow the girl's face to show through the blurring effect, so with the Gradient Tool, the Black to White gradient and the Radial Gradient style selected, I'll click in the center of her face to set my starting point for the gradient. Then I'll simply drag my mouse towards the left until I'm just beyond her hair. The area in between the starting and end points of the gradient will become a smooth transition area between the blurring effect on "Layer 1" and the original image on the Background layer below it. Since I'm drawing a radial gradient, the gradient will extend 360° around my starting point (which means it doesn't really matter which direction you drag from the starting point), creating a circular shape with black in the center and gradually changing to white as it extends out in all directions:

Since we drew the gradient on the layer mask, not on the layer itself, we don't see the gradient in the document window. Instead, we see the results of the gradient on the layer mask. The girl's face is now visible through the blurring effect:

Even though we can't see the gradient in the document window, we can see it if we look at the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers panel. The black area represents the part of the layer that's now hidden from view. As the gradient becomes lighter towards the edges, more of the layer becomes visible. The white areas are where the layer is completely visible:

If you're not happy with your initial gradient, simply press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) to undo the gradient, then try again.

Step 8: Lower The Opacity To Fine-Tune The Results

If you find that your blur effect is too strong, you can reduce its intensity by lowering the opacity of "Layer 1". Lowering the layer's opacity value will allow more of the original image on the Background layer below it to show through. You'll find the Opacity option in the top right of the Layers panel. Keep an eye on your document window as you adjust the opacity to judge the results. I'm going to lower mine down to around 70%:

And with that, we're done! Here, after fine-tuning my results with the Opacity option, is my final "action zoom effect" result:

And there we have it!

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