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For journalistic purposes, there are occasions where it's necessary to conceal the identity of a person or sensitive content in a photo. Let us guide you through pixelating areas in photos.
Creating Censorship Effects in Photoshop
Censorship effects are widely used in the field of journalism. When posting sensitive images, publishers often censor faces or specific areas to avoid evoking negative emotions in viewers.
No matter your intention, you can achieve censorship effects using Photoshop with the steps below.
Step 1: Select the Object Using the Lasso Tool
There are various methods to create selections in Photoshop, but here we'll utilize the Lasso tool. This tool allows us to draw around faces to create selections.
1. Open the image you need to edit in Photoshop by clicking File >> Open.
2. When the image is imported into Photoshop, press Ctrl + J to duplicate the layer.
3. Select the Lasso Tool located on the left-hand side toolbar.
4. Draw around the area you want to blur, for instance, I'll take the example of the girl's face.
5. Hold Shift to add another area, such as the boy's face.
Now that we've selected the object to blur, let's move on to the next step.
Step 2: Masking the Selected Area
It's time to pixelate the selected areas using a simple process, utilizing the Pixelate >> Mosaic features in Photoshop.
1. Go to Filter >> Pixelate >> Mosaic.
Adjust the pixel square size by dragging the slider under Cell Size.
Press OK to apply the changes.
The outcome is an image with necessary areas concealed. Now, select File >> Export >> Export As… to export the image file.
Choose the image format under Format, size under Image Size. Finally, click on Export.
