Details: Last Updated: 04 September 2020

How to Remove Background in Photoshop

As a designer, we should know some quick and efficient techniques to extract some particular objects or design element from an image. We will learn them in this tutorial.

Photoshop Extraction/Remove Background:- First example

Step 1) Select Image whose background you want to remove

This is an image of a model with a clean white background, and we want to extract the model.

We can extract this with the help of photoshop extraction tool like "pen tool," but it will be a very time-consuming technique. So we can't use the pen.

Step 2) Chose the Magic Wand Tool and select background

So now go and grab the "magic wand tool" and click on a white background to select it, to add selection area hold "shift key" and click on the portion which you want to add in selection.

Step 3) Apply Inverse

Now we want to extract the model so we have to select her, go to select menu and choose “inverse” so it will invert the selection.

Step 4) Refine Edges

Our selection is made, but still, it is not perfectly selected, because it has very sharp edges selected around it, and some pixel is not selected on edges and some unwanted pixels are selected, so to deal with this problem I'll click on "refine edges" button, up here in option bar.

This is refined edge panel. I'm changing the view mode from "black & white" to "on black."

Because of the black background, we can see what the problem with edges of the model is.

Now start painting on edges of the model and see how it is subtracting some unwanted white color pixels from the selection.

I have removed rough edges and made them softer.

Let me change the view mode to "black & white."

Keep in your mind that black means "transparent" and white means "opaque."

Step 5) Use the "erase refinements tool."

Here some part of the model has been transparent, so I need to remove it for that select "erase refinements tool" and correct the selection.

But this is not a big issue so that we can deal with it later.

Step 6) New Layer

You can see here some transparent pixels around the edges of the model in some specific portions. So now change the setting of "output" option. Select "new layer with layer mask" from drop-down list.

Press ok

You can see here in layer panel a new layer is created with a layer mask.

Now see these transparent pixels here. To deal with it duplicate the layer by pressing CTRL + J.

And you can see our problem is solved.

Step 7) Output

You can see with the help of this cool trick we have extracted the model very nicely.

Luminosity Based Extraction Technique.

In this technique, we will talk about "luminosity based selection."

See here is an image of smoke, in smoke, some portion is full opaque while some part is half transparent. So we want to extract the smoke with proper transparent pixels.

In the previous technique, we have made our selection with "magic wand tool," but here it will not be the proper technique in the case of smoke.

So here we will use the "channels palet."

In channels panel hold the CTRL key and click on "RGB channel" on the top of the channels panel, it loads all the brightness value as the active selection. It has selected the entire white background.

Now go to select menu and choose Inverse.

Then press CTRL + J to create a new layer of the selected portion.

You can see here a new layer is created of the selected area.

But it looks very flat.

So to maintain it’s density select layer and press CTRL + J for around 4-5 times.

And merge all duplicate layers.

Now you can see, with the help of this trick how perfectly we have extracted the smoke.

This is called "luminosity based selection" technique.

Let’s move to our next example.

Here is a model and we want to extract her hair very quickly.

If we use the "pen tool" in this particular image then it will be a time-consuming process, but if we do not need to waste more time on this, we can do this very nicely and quickly with the help of "refine edge" option.