Photoshop is a versatile tool used in graphic design, including the art of removing backgrounds. Mastering how to eliminate backgrounds using Photoshop gives you greater creative control over your images while maintaining clarity and sharpness.
To successfully eliminate backgrounds from images, it is necessary to make an accurate selection with patience, precision, and familiarity with Photoshop’s toolset.
Background Eraser Tool
The Background Eraser Tool in Photoshop is an invaluable tool that allows you to erase backgrounds. This can be especially helpful when working on images featuring fine details like fur, hair strands or other elements.
To use it, locate it under the Eraser submenu of Photoshop’s toolbox. To activate it, simply click on it and hold down your mouse button.
Before you begin using the tool, make sure that the brush size is large enough to cover the area where you wish to erase background. You can adjust this with menu bar or keyboard commands such as [ for a larger brush and / for a smaller one.
Next, set Sampling to Continuous. This ensures that the tool samples the color under your crosshair as you drag it. This is ideal when working with multi-colored backgrounds.
You can select Once to only erase the color you first clicked on while moving the crosshair. This makes it simpler to get rid of background when your image contains many hues.
Sampling Options allows you to set a background color swatch. This will only erase pixels that match the one assigned in Tools palette.
Limits can be set to either all over the image (Discontiguous), only adjacent areas (Contiguous), or only inside pixels (Find Edges). This helps remove fur or other fine details without removing too much of the actual subject.
Tolerance is another critical setting you can adjust to help the Background Eraser Tool pick up colors closer to what was sampled. A lower tolerance value works better if your background contains many different hues, while a higher value helps remove edge fringing more efficiently when your subject and background have similar hues.
Tolerance should only be increased up to 20-25% if your background is highly complex or some of the subject’s original color remains. A lower tolerance value will enable the Background Eraser to more accurately pick up color variations, while a high value may leave behind artifacts.
Masking
Masking in Photoshop is a useful technique for masking out an image’s background. It has numerous uses and is suitable for both novices and experts alike.
Masking for optimal performance requires that the mask edges be clean and sharp. You can achieve this goal with Global Refinement options like Smooth, Feather, Contrast and Shift Edge.
If you have a good selection, you can use the Brush Tool to erase areas of background. Alternatively, you could use the Quick Selection Tool to select an area and paint over it with black.
For finer edge control, a pen tool can be used. This tool has the option of being set at a specific size and zooming in for work on more intricate details.
Another useful tool is the Lasso Tool, which allows you to draw a line around an object in order to isolate it–for example, the face in this image.
You may also use the Magic Wand tool. To use it, click and drag to trace a line around whatever subject you wish to preserve. When finished, a dotted line will flash in confirmation.
Finally, you can apply a Layer Mask to the image. To do this, select the thumbnail for that layer on the layers pane.
Once you’re happy with how it looks, save the image.
The next step is to eliminate all remaining unwanted parts from the image by employing the eraser tool on the layer that has been selected.
If you’re not satisfied with the results, retrace the subject until it’s precisely how desired. You may also use the Refine Edge Brush Tool to further fine tune your selection – this can be useful for adding hair or other fine details to it.
Object Selection Tool
The Object Selection Tool is one of Photoshop’s newest additions to its Select and Mask controls, enabling you to quickly and precisely select objects within your images.
The Object Selection tool works by specifying an area around the object you wish to select. This makes it simple to select any part of an image, even if there are multiple layers involved.
To use the Object Selection Tool, click and drag your cursor around the object you wish to select. Once selected, you can move or delete it from your image.
This tool is especially beneficial if you’re creating a collage or montage of several images. It makes selecting an object from a composite much simpler, as you can modify and refine it without losing any pixels in your image.
You can also use this tool to eliminate background from your image. The Object Selection Tool works best when your subject and its surrounding background have good contrast.
When trying to remove a background that contains multiple subjects such as flowers and trees, the Object Selection Tool may struggle to make accurate selections. Fortunately, you can manually select these areas and then use the Background Eraser tool to erase the background.
After removing the background, you can select and move a single subject with ease. Additionally, the Quick Selection Tool allows for selecting subjects without backgrounds in images – great for when you don’t want to remove them completely.
Another option is to enable the Object Subtract feature of the Object Selection Tool. This will automatically subtract any pixels you drag from the area selected, which may be helpful when the Object Selection Tool has difficulty making accurate selections.
You can also use the Content-Aware Fill tool to transform an unwanted part of your image with a similar texture and color. Draw a line around it, then brush over it with the Content-Aware Fill tool until you achieve desired results.
Layer Mask
Layer masks in Photoshop enable you to conceal parts of a layer while displaying other parts. This is useful for erasing backgrounds from images.
Create a layer mask by clicking on the Layer Mask thumbnail in your Layers palette or clicking “Layer Mask” in the Layers panel. Alternatively, you may hide any masks within the document by holding down either “Alt” (Windows) or “Option” (Mac).
To paint over parts of an image with a layer mask, you’ll need the brush tool. It has various settings that let you switch the color chip from black to white and adjust the size of your brush accordingly.
The beauty of a layer mask is that it doesn’t actually erase any pixels in an image – you can make it as subtle or bold as desired. This can be especially useful when you want to eliminate backgrounds or other elements from an image but leave behind only some pixels from their original state.
When working with large photos, the layer mask can be invaluable as it allows you to selectively paint over parts of your image with the brush tool. You can paint over the entire image in one go for a comprehensive removal, or zoom in and work more precisely on details.
Layer masks are one of the most useful tools in Photoshop, and mastering how to do so can significantly enhance your post-processing expertise.
For example, you can hide the background and reveal other parts of an image simultaneously using layer masks. Layer masks also allow for effects like color-fade transitions or text addition to an image with just one layer mask applied!
Though it can be challenging to learn, there are various methods for removing background in Photoshop. Some are straightforward and quick, while others require manual work which takes more time. It’s essential that you find a method that works for you and your style of work; however, all of these solutions are highly effective.