First, you’ll need to open the image from which you wish to remove the background in Photoshop. I’m using a photograph I took of a giraffe at Colchester Zoo to demonstrate this technique, which has a very defined boundary between the bit we want to keep (the giraffe) and the background.
We’ve used Adobe Photoshop to complete this process, which is available separately or as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. Some students are eligible for an extended free trial of Creative Cloud, and there are also ways to get Photoshop for free.
Now, you’ll need to make a selection. To make a selection there are various tools you can use, but for beginners, the easiest tools to use are the Quick Selection Tool and the Magic Wand Tool. There’s also the Lasso tool, which can be more accurate but also take longer to use.
I’ll first show you how to use the Quick Selection tool, then I’ll demonstrate the Magic Wand tool, and finally we’ll use the Lasso tool. Sometimes a combination of all three selection tools can be most effective.
First choose the Quick Selection tool as shown and then move on to the next step to find out how to use it.
Select the background that you’d like to remove by clicking and dragging around the area.
If you accidentally select something you didn’t want to, you can press and hold the alt key on your keyboard to use the ‘-‘ Quick Selection tool and remove it from the selection. Remember to press shift again before continuing to select more of the background, though.
You don’t need to be too accurate with things like hair and fur, because you can refine the edge later (we’ll come onto that in a minute).
Start by clicking on a portion of the background you want to get rid of. If the selection looks like the one shown here you’ll need to increase the tolerance, which can be found in along the top of your Photoshop window. Try increasing it to 10 or 15 and see if that helps.
To add to your selection whilst using the Magic Wand tool, hold down the shift button as you click on other areas of the background you want to remove. To detract from your selection hold down alt as you’re clicking.
This time we’ll select the giraffe itself by clicking along the edge of the giraffe to create a line that will eventually become the selection. The more times you click the more accurate your selection will be – click every time the outline of your subject changes direction, even slightly.
When you’re about to finish – when you’ve drawn the line all the way around your subject – you can double click to turn it into a selection or click on the very first point you made when you see a little circle appear next to your curser.
Now only the giraffe is selected and you can start refining the edge before removing the background as we’ll demonstrate in the rest of this article.
If you used the Lasso tool as shown you’ve already selected the giraffe so you can move onto the next step without inversing the selection.
It might not look great yet, though, but don’t worry, you can use the Refine Mask tools to improve it.
First, click ‘Show Radius’.
You’ll see nothing to begin with, but by adjusting the radius slider, you can make sure that the radius is picking up all of the stray hairs and getting rid of the background between them.
If you move your cursor over the photograph, you’ll see a circle with a plus in the centre. You can use this to click and drag over problem areas to help pick up those awkward and tricky areas.
Now, use the sliders to adjust the mask until you’re happy with the look you’ve achieved.
Ashleigh is Tech Advisor’s Head of Affiliate. Providing expert buying advice you can trust is her forte, helping you to find the most reputable consumer tech products and services, and ensuring you don’t spend a penny more than you should.
