Ever had a good picture of yourself that you absolutely adore and you study it for a minute, only to realize that the background ruins the whole shot? Or just want to make a sticker but you don’t know how to remove the background of a photo? Here’s a good news for you – you can actually remove it! One of the most useful tools to do so is Photoshop. Today, we’ll be talking about all solutions and steps on how to delete background in Photoshop. Some steps may not be applicable depending on the version of the program you are using. In this tutorial, we will be using Photoshop CS6.
1st Step: Launch Photoshop and open your image by clicking File > Open, then locate your image.
We will be working with this image:
The aim is to completely remove the purple background and leave the colorful ball.
2nd Step: Make sure the layer where your image is located isn’t locked so you can add another layer below it.
To remove the lock icon, double click the layer and a window will appear. Just click “Ok”. Add a new layer below it by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N. Drag the new layer and place it below your image. It should look like this:
To start, here are 3 main solutions for deleting background using Photoshop:
The Eraser tool allows you to erase parts of your image manually. Albeit not too accurate, it’s the easiest option there is.
1st Step: On the left side of the screen, you can find the tools menu. Simply click the Eraser icon, and using your mouse, manually erase all the background that you wish to remove from the photo. You need to have steady hands and good control of the mouse so you won’t erase the image you want to leave.
Note: Make sure that you select the layer where your object is by clicking on its corresponding layer in the Layers section as shown above.
2nd Step: Save your image by clicking File > Save As or pressing Ctrl + Shift + S. Choose PNG as the format.
The Background Eraser Tool works just like the Eraser, except that it only erases parts of your image with the same color. It detects images or the obstruction of a solid image; therefore, it won’t remove it, only the solid spaces that it recognizes as the background will be removed.
1st Step: Right click the Eraser tool. A drop-down will appear. Simply click Background Eraser tool.
You can adjust its limits, tolerance, and brush settings to get a good control during the process. These adjustments are located on the upper part of the screen and works better on images with solid backgrounds. You can tweak these adjustments so you’ll have a better result.
2nd Step: Start by holding your left mouse button on the background you want to remove then start erasing. Keep in mind that you need to hold the left mouse button to completely erase the same color in your background. Repeat until you completely removed the background.
This is how the final output should look like:
These two tools speak for themselves. They can be used as quick as possible, but they only work best on images with a single color background.
1st Step: Select the Quick Selection tool by clicking on the fourth icon in your left sidebar.
2nd Step: Click on the sections you want to remove by holding your left mouse button and moving around the image. Make sure you don’t include your main image. Afterward, remove the background by right clicking on the selection and choosing the Select Inverse option. Press Delete or Backspace.
3rd Step: Save the image following the same procedure used in the previous tools. Click File > Save As, then save your image in PNG format.
And now you can put your newly made photo without the background to any photo you like!
Wondershare Fotophire Editing Toolkit is a relatively new photo editor, but it does a good job especially when it comes to deleting background from your image. It comes with the following features:
You can Get Wondershare Fotophire Editing Toolkit for Mac Here.
1st Step: To start, launch your Fotophire software, then choose Photo Cutter from the selection. Click Open to load your image into the software.
2nd Step: In the right panel, you can see the CUT-OUT section. Click on it, then choose “Paint Areas to Remove”. You can adjust the size of your brush, its quality, and edge blur based on your preferences.
3rd Step: Start painting around your subject. The software will automatically the area outside of the paint as the background. Simply drag your mouse around your image. Once you release the left mouse button, the tool will then start cutting the background. Repeat the process until you’re able to completely remove the background.
This is how the final output will look like:
4th Step: Save your image by clicking the Save icon located on the top portion of your screen.
Your image will be automatically saved in PNG format. You may now use it for other editing purposes such as add a new background, object, etc.
Photoshop is no doubt one of the best tools when it comes to editing an image such as adding new effects, removing its background, and more. However, when it comes to ease of use and convenience, you can surely count on Fotophire. Its ease of use makes it the ideal choice for beginners, especially those who have knowledge in editing photos. The drag and drop user interface is quite intuitive, and the whole process of deleting a background from your image will only take a few minutes.