How to make a portrait stand out against a lousy background using photoshop

1. Use the magic wand tool to select the picture. Invert it to select the background using Ctrl-Shift-I
2. Run filters [I like the gausian blur or glow edges - see pic below]


I use it typically to remove people whom i dont want in kids pics or littered kids rooms. It is better than to fill with a background and run a gradient as it gives it a lot more natural feel to the pic.

After the selection and glow edges filter