What is motion blur?

Motion blur is the streaking you get when a camera or a subject moves while the shutter is open: every point of light is drawn out into a short line. Added to a still photo, it makes cars, runners, and trains look fast, and a slight blur suggests a camera panning along with the action.

Tool description

Set the distance, the length of the streaks, and the angle, the direction of the movement: 0° is horizontal and 90° vertical. The preview updates as you drag, even for long streaks, and the comparison slider shows the original next to the result. The download keeps the image's full size.

Features

  • Adjustable streak length and direction
  • Light mixes like on a real sensor, so bright spots leave bright trails
  • No dark or faded borders
  • Runs in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device

How it works

Each pixel becomes the average of a straight line of pixels through it, centered on it, as long as the distance and pointing along the angle. That's what a camera records when the scene slides past at a steady speed. The tool averages along these lines with a running sum, so long streaks take no longer than short ones. Past the edges of the image the edge pixels repeat, which keeps the borders from fading to black.

Tips

  • Match the angle to the way the subject moves, for example 0° for a car driving across the frame.
  • A short distance is enough to suggest speed. Long streaks quickly turn a photo abstract.
  • To keep a subject sharp in front of a streaked background, blur a copy and combine the two in an editor with layers.