Photo editing help needed

[Lady Moreta]

Hi

I'm hoping someone can give me a hand in editing a photo of myself and my husband. It was taken at a work event, and there are lots of people and tables in the background. I want to blur the background to make it less obvious, and keep the focus on us. I have Inkscape, GIMP, and the MS photo viewing/editing program (the name of which I have forgotten).

Is there anyone out there who can give me a handy hint or tip on how to do this?

Thanks

[Lvl 2 Expert]

There are probably scripts and filters for this, but what I'd try (using the GIMP, because that's just what I know how to use) is manually selecting the foreground image, inverting the selection so you have everything but the fireground instead, maybe soften te edge of the selection a little and then cut and paste it all as a new layer. If you're happy with the selection this is an ideal point to save before you start experimenting. I don't know of any "loose focus" option in the Gimp, but you can fake it pretty well by scaling the layer down and back up. The effect that gives will differ depending on your resolution though. Things you could try instead are going over the whole selection in one go with a large tool (like galaxy large) with the smudge or the darken/lighten tools, with the right settings. If the effects come out too strong you can copy this new layer onto the original file and use the eraser at a setting other than 100% (same method as before, use a large tool and go over the whole selection in one go without releasing the mouse button) to create something in between the modyfied and the original look (color to alpha is another option, but that usually changes your colors quite a bit).

Modified pictures will often end up looking modified. If you do more than mess with the color saturation a little odds are you will look at the result and see what you did, even if only because it was you who did it and you've been staring at this picture for several hours. But it's worth a shot.

[Excession]

Not an expert in this, but I do know GIMP to some degree.

First you need to select everything you want to blur. You might be able to use the Fuzzy Select or Select By Color tools for that, and they'll be easier if they work. If they don't you could just draw the selection manually. I think an easy way to do that would be to create a new transparent layer and draw on that layer (in whatever colour shows up well) over either the part you want to keep or the part you want to blur. You could also use this to combine multiple fuzzy selects with manual corrections, while always having something you can undo/redo and save as you work.

Once you're happy with that drawing, choose "Layer > Transparency > Alpha To Selection". Invert that selection if necessary so the part you want to blur is selected. Then hide that new layer and click back to the photo layer without removing the selection. Choose "Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur..." and adjust the size to get the level of blurriness you want. Click OK on the blur dialog once you're happy with the preview.