So I followed the instructions, starting with the lg portrait size, so I can get my bearings. When I finished the portrait looked washed out, so with some trial and error I took the blur layer. I erased everything but the character, and set the opacity at 85%. Overall it was a little more involved than I was hoping for, but I can't argue with end results.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hS3mdD7C9LpUl7WtTVTccWMxzMSBqR6k/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1TWpc1iOH7fSe5ChdwBYgSmgb5HPP63EJ
This is my first post, just wanted to say thanks.