Online PSFilters and effects: pixelate, blur backgrounds, vintage looks
All filters live in the Effects menu. Not sure which one? Open "Effects → Effect browser": it shows the effects as thumbnails side by side, and a click applies one.
Hiding details in a screenshot
Phone numbers, avatars and addresses in a screenshot should be hidden before you share it.
Filters always apply to the whole current layer, so first turn the part to hide into a layer of its own:
- Pick the Selection tool (the dashed box) and drag a box over the area;
- Click "Edit → Copy Selection": the boxed content becomes a new layer in exactly the same place;
- Make sure that new layer is selected in the Layers panel, then click "Effects → Mosaic", set the size and confirm;
- Or use "Effects → Common Filters → Gaussian Blur" for a softer look.
Apply the mosaic to the original instead and the whole picture gets pixelated. Undo with
Ctrl + Z.Blur the background, keep the subject sharp
- "Effects → Tilt Shift": blurred top and bottom, sharp middle, like a miniature model;
- The Blur tool in the toolbox: paint over the areas you want blurred.
One-click looks
- Black and White, Grayscale: remove the color;
- Sepia, Vintage: the warm tone of old photos;
- Vignette: darker corners that draw the eye to the middle;
- Borders: a frame around the picture;
- Instagram Filters: 1977, Clarendon, Valencia and six more;
- Sharpen: for a slightly soft photo;
- Denoise: for noisy night shots.
Too strong? "Layer → Duplicate" first, apply the filter to the copy and lower its opacity for a more natural result.