The Filter: Blur: function is one that you'll want to know and use.  It can be used on normal layers (not vector shapes).  You have different options to create some cool effects.  You can have control over these blur filters and their "intensity": radial blur, zoom blur, motion blur and gaussian blur.  "Blur" and "blur more" are one time filters that you can keep running over again (to...blur more) but give you no control over the parameters.  You can blur text after you rasterize it.

Before you blur, you'll want to make a copy of the layer that you are blurring (by dragging the layer to the new layer icon on the bottom of the layers palette).  Once you make changes (adjustments, filters..) on a layer you may have to stick with it unless you make a duplicate; once you start doing other things you like and want to keep and have to go back in the History palette to go back in time to get rid of your filter you'll wish you had just made a copy of the layer to make filters on.

You can also use the Blur tool on the tools palette but it won't be as cool as motion blur.  Remember you can change the settings in the option bar to make it stronger or weaker as covered in the Basic Photoshop training.  Here is an example where the background was selected and then motion blurred.  Of course I made a duplicate of the original image to then blur upon.

The original image is included in the 880 Image ClubCast.Tv Portfolio which you can use when you order the 2000+ images CD (only available with my Photoshop Designer or Total Package)

- Orion Williams copyright 2004