How To Remove a Background In Photoshop [For Beginners]
TLDRJoin Jesús Ramirez as he unveils professional techniques for removing backgrounds in Photoshop, a skill essential for crafting movie and TV posters. This beginner-friendly tutorial breaks down the process into three easy steps, emphasizing the use of the 'Select and Mask' workspace for precision. Ramirez demonstrates how to fine-tune selections, tackle intricate details like hair, and introduces custom brushes for realistic effects. By the end, you'll not only grasp how to achieve clean, realistic edges but also how to handle common issues and enhance your workflow with advanced Photoshop tools.
Takeaways
- 🎨 **Selecting the Main Subject**: Use 'Select and Mask' for precise selections and better control over the Photoshop interface.
- 🔍 **Quick Selection Tool**: Click and drag to automatically find edges and expand the selection; use Alt/Option to subtract from selection.
- 🌟 **Select Subject with Cloud Option**: Sends image to Adobe for better selection, requires internet, or choose Device for offline processing.
- 👤 **Object Selection Tool**: Useful for multi-subject photos when only one subject needs to be selected.
- 🖌️ **Fine-Tuning Edges**: Add missing areas with Quick Selection Tool or Brush Tool, adjust brush size with bracket keys for precision.
- 📏 **Refine Hard Edges**: Use Global Refinement sliders like Smooth and Contrast for better edge definition, ignore intricate details like hair for now.
- 🧑 **Selecting Hair**: Separate hair from body in refinement for better results; use Layer Mask for non-destructive editing.
- 🧹 **Refine Edge Brush Tool**: Captures fine details that standard tools might miss, use Show Edges to visualize the effect.
- 🖋️ **Fixing Common Issues**: Address incomplete masks or over masking with Brush Tool on Layer Mask, use black to hide and white to reveal.
- 🧹 **Custom Brushes**: Use custom brushes for complex areas like flyaway hair or fuzzy edges, providing a more natural look.
- 🌐 **Blur Tool**: Match varying degrees of blurriness around the subject's edges by blurring the mask to mimic the photo's depth of field.
- 🎭 **Color Cast Correction**: Use a clipping mask with Color blending mode to remove any color spill from the background onto the subject.
Q & A
What is the main focus of this Photoshop tutorial?
-The main focus of this tutorial is to teach beginners professional techniques for removing backgrounds in Photoshop, with a focus on getting precise edges and maintaining editing flexibility.
Why does Jesús Ramirez prefer using 'Select and Mask' over the 'Remove background' button in the taskbar?
-Jesús Ramirez prefers 'Select and Mask' because it provides a workspace that allows for more precise selections and masks without the distractions of the entire Photoshop interface, leading to better results.
What is the purpose of the 'Cloud' option in the Select Subject feature?
-The 'Cloud' option sends the image to Adobe's service to process it and generate a better selection. It's beneficial for creating a more accurate selection, but it requires an internet connection.
How can you temporarily activate the Subtract function while using the Quick Selection tool?
-You can temporarily activate the Subtract function by holding the Alt key on Windows or Option key on Mac while dragging to remove areas from the selection.
What tool can be used to select intricate details like hair in a photo?
-The Refine Edge brush tool can be used to select intricate details like hair, as it uses Photoshop's edge detection algorithms to capture fine details that standard selection tools might miss.
How does a layer mask work in Photoshop?
-A layer mask in Photoshop is a non-destructive way of hiding areas in an image. It hides content without deleting it, allowing for the hidden content to be brought back at any time.
What is the benefit of using a custom brush to fix areas that are difficult to select?
-Using a custom brush allows for more control and can produce more realistic results in areas that are difficult to select through standard selection tools, such as flyaway hair or fuzzy edges.
How can you adjust the edges of a selection to match the blurriness of the original photo?
-You can enable the Blur tool and apply it to the edges of the mask to match the original photo's blurriness. This can be done more effectively by viewing the mask in black and white mode.
What is the 'Minimum' filter used for in refining a layer mask?
-The 'Minimum' filter is used to contract the mask, helping to eliminate strong outlines around the main subject. It provides more precise control and can be applied locally to specific areas of the mask.
How can you fix a color cast that may occur around the edges of a subject?
-To fix a color cast, create a new layer above the main subject, apply a clipping mask, change the blending mode to 'Color', and then use the Brush tool to paint away the color spill using a similar color sampled from the image.
What file format should be used to export an image with a transparent background from Photoshop?
-The PNG file format should be used to export an image with a transparent background from Photoshop, as it supports transparency.
Outlines
🎨 Photoshop Background Removal Techniques
This tutorial introduces professional techniques used in Photoshop for background removal, particularly for movie and TV posters. The focus is on achieving precise edges and maintaining editing flexibility. The process is broken down into three steps: selecting the main subject using the Select and Mask tool, refining hard edges with global refinement sliders, and addressing common problems. The presenter, Jesús Ramirez, shares his professional brushes and offers tips for solving issues like rough edges and maintaining a natural look.
🔍 Refining Edges and Selecting Hair
The second part of the tutorial delves into refining the edges of the selection to make them smoother and clearer. It explains how to use the Black and White view mode to better see and adjust the edges. The use of Global Refinement sliders such as Smooth and Contrast is detailed to improve the overall selection. The section also covers the intricacies of selecting hair or other fine details using the Refine Edge brush tool and the Refine Hair button, emphasizing the importance of manual adjustments for better results.
🖌️ Addressing Common Masking Issues
This section addresses common issues that arise when creating masks in Photoshop, such as incomplete masks or over masking. It provides solutions like using the Brush tool to hide remnants of the background or reveal hidden areas of the subject. The tutorial also introduces custom brushes for painting back in details that are difficult to select, such as flyaway hairs or fuzzy edges. Additionally, it covers techniques for dealing with varying degrees of blurriness and strong outlines around the subject, including the use of the Minimum filter for local mask adjustments.
🌈 Removing Color Casts and Exporting
The final paragraph discusses how to deal with color casts that may occur from the background reflecting onto the subject. It explains creating a clipping mask with a Color blending mode and using the Brush tool to remove color spill. The paragraph also covers how to continue this process for other areas of the image that may have color casts. Finally, it mentions exporting the image as a PNG to preserve the transparency and encourages viewers to like and subscribe for more content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Photoshop
💡Select and Mask
💡Quick Selection Tool
💡Select Subject
💡Layer Mask
💡Refine Edge Brush Tool
💡Global Refinement Sliders
💡Object Selection Tool
💡Color Cast
💡PNG
💡Minimum Filter
Highlights
Photoshop beginners can learn professional techniques for background removal.
Selecting the main subject is the first step in the background removal process.
Using the Select and Mask tool provides more control and better results than the Remove Background button.
The quick selection tool can automatically find edges and expand the selection.
The Select Subject button with Cloud option can generate a better selection by sending the image to Adobe for processing.
The Object Selection tool can be used to keep a specific subject in a multi-subject photo.
Fine-tuning the selection includes adding missing areas and using the Brush tool for manual selection.
Global Refinement sliders like Smooth and Contrast help improve the edges of the selection.
Shift Edge Slider can be used to contract or expand the selection to reduce edge halos.
Separating the selection of the main subject's body and hair provides better results.
A layer mask is a non-destructive way to hide areas in the image, allowing for flexibility in editing.
The Refine Edge brush tool captures fine details that standard selection tools might miss.
Artificial intelligence can be used to locate hair and apply adjustments with the Refine Hair button.
Manual adjustments are often necessary for intricate details like hair.
Incomplete masks or over masking issues can be fixed by painting on the mask with black or white.
Custom brushes can be used to paint back details that are difficult to select, such as flyaway hair.
The Blur tool can be used to match the blurriness of the original photo's depth of field.
The Minimum filter can be used to contract the mask and remove strong outlines around the subject.
Color casts caused by reflections can be fixed using a clipping mask with a Color blending mode.
The image can be exported as a PNG to preserve the transparency after the background is removed.
