How to get same effect in Photoshop as AA's Assistant Plugin on Paint.net

Question

I just want to know how to get that same nice subtle little blur around the edges of my images that the AA's Assistant plugin gives when using Paint.net.
 
I'm sure it has to be a piece of cake in Photoshop. Does anybody know how one would achieve the same effect? Click the hyperlink above to see exactly what the AA's Assistant plugin does.
 
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Stephen Marsh · Accepted Answer

@Kitsune8

Presuming that the subject is isolated on a layer above the background, you could look into Layer > Matting > Defringe or Remove Black/White Matte commands.

Additionally, with the subject selected you could use Select > Modify > Border: 1px and then Select > Modify > Expand: 1px and apply a minor feather and minor blur.

c.pfaffenbichler · Answer

A plain Feather can be applied to a Layer Mask via the Properties Panel.

If you want to maintain editability for further editing then instead of using a straight-up Layer Mask you can use a Smart Object, apply the corresponding Filters and Adjustments andn use the SO as the basis of a Clipping Maskor a Knockout Layer.

Naturally you can apply the same destructively on a Layer Mask.

But maybe you should look into Select and Mask more.

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