Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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If you blur a full layer, you’ll blur everything — including the foreground. In this Short, I show a clean workaround: mask + duplicate your layer so you can keep the foreground sharp and blur only the background.

Workflow shown:

Try blur → undo (Cmd+Z / Ctrl+Z)
Draw a mask with the Pen Tool (G) on “lava, trees & rocks”
Duplicate the layer (Cmd+D / Ctrl+D)
Press M → set one mask to Subtract to restore the full image
Keep foreground above background for clean stacking
Apply Camera Lens Blur only to the background copy (soft blur ~3–4)

📺 Full Chapter 2 (playlist link):
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL75fjdmpFwHHCZztxUSAEQxGEFqbhIKKE

#AfterEffects #Masking #CameraLensBlur #DepthOfField #Compositing #Moho