--- title: "Motion Blur Image – Add a Sideways Speed Blur" description: "Add motion blur to a photo: a horizontal streak, as if the camera or subject moved, from a gentle drift to a strong speed effect. One slider, any common format." url: "https://imagecompressor.si/motion-blur-image" lang: "en" --- # Add motion blur to an image Give a picture a sideways streak of movement, from a soft drift to a fast blur, with a single slider. ## How it works 1. **Add your images** Drag and drop, paste, or pick files. They upload over an encrypted connection. 2. **Pick a quality or a target size** Use the quality slider, or tell it exactly how many KB or MB you need. 3. **Download** Save each file, or grab them all at once as a ZIP. Motion blur is the streak a moving subject leaves in a photo taken with a slow shutter: the blur of a passing car, a runner, a train. Added afterwards, it turns a still picture into one that feels fast, softens a busy background behind a title, or gives product shots a sense of energy. Add your picture and it opens with a moderate blur already applied. The motion blur slider sets the length of the streak, up to a twentieth of the picture's longer side, so the effect looks the same on a large photo and a small one. The streak runs horizontally, the direction most movement is shown. Combine it with the other adjustments in the panel: a little extra contrast keeps the streaked shapes readable, and brightness can lift a darker result. Download as JPEG, PNG or WebP. ## Making it look natural Real motion blur is strongest on the moving thing and weaker on the background, or the other way round when the camera follows the subject. This page blurs the whole picture evenly, which suits backgrounds, abstract designs and text plates best. For a sharp subject on a streaked background, blur a copy and put the cut-out subject on top with the background tools. A short streak reads as movement; a very long one turns the picture into horizontal lines, which can be a design in its own right. ## Backgrounds for text A photo blurred sideways makes a calm background for a quote, a title or a social post. Blur it here, then add your words with the add text page; the streaks keep the colours of the original while the details fade out. ## Batches Add several pictures and each gets the same streak length, so a series of slides or banners match. Change the slider once and every picture in the list is made again with the new length. ## Privacy Your pictures are processed on our server and deleted once the blurred versions are ready. ## Other blurs For an even soft focus in every direction, use the blur image page. To blur only what is behind a person, the blur background page keeps the subject sharp. Ordinary blur and motion blur can also be used together in this panel. ## Animated pictures Motion blur is applied to still images only; an animated GIF keeps its frames as they are. ## Sports and travel shots A picture of a cyclist, a car or a train looks faster with a light streak. Keep the slider low, so the shape is still recognisable, and pair it with a little extra saturation for a bold poster look. For a picture taken from a moving vehicle, a stronger streak recreates the feel of the landscape rushing past. ## Saving the result Save as JPEG for photos and social posts. For a background that will have text placed on it later, PNG keeps the smooth gradients of the streaks without blocky edges. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which way does the blur go? Horizontally, from side to side. ### How strong can it be? The streak reaches up to a twentieth of the picture's longer side. ### Can I keep the subject sharp? Not on this page; use the blur background page for that. ### Does it work on many photos? Yes. Each gets the same setting. ### Are my photos kept? No. They leave our server once the results are made. ### Can I combine it with other edits? Yes. Contrast, brightness and more are in the same panel. ### Does it work on GIFs? No, only on still pictures. ## Related tools - [Blur an image](https://imagecompressor.si/blur-image): Soften a whole picture with one slider, for backgrounds, wallpapers and quiet visuals behind text. - [Blur the background of a photo](https://imagecompressor.si/blur-background): Keep the subject sharp and soften everything behind it, the way a portrait lens does. - [Sharpen an image](https://imagecompressor.si/sharpen-image): Bring out edges and fine detail in a photo that looks a little soft, with one slider.