How to remove a background from a photo in Photoshop in this step-by-step tutorial.

Removing the background from a photograph can be a really tricky task, particularly if the subject you want to cut out has lots of hair, or if the background is exceedingly complex. Here, we take you through the process of removing a background from an image to help you overcome that challenge.

First, you’ll need to open the image you wish to remove the background from in Adobe Photoshop. Here, 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. For images with fine detail around what you want to cut out – such as hair – see our tutorial on how to cut out hair in Photoshop.

I’m using Adobe CC, but the background removal technique detailed here will work in Photoshop CS5 and above, though some elements may look slightly different.

Once you’ve chosen the image you want to remove the background from and opened it in Photoshop, use the slideshow controls above and right to follow the remaining steps in the tutorial (if you’re viewing this site on a computer or tablet – if you’re on a phone, just scroll down).

10 minutes

Adobe Photoshop CS5 or later

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.

For this example, we’re using the Quick Selection tool, which can be found in the tools panel.

Make sure you’re using the Quick Selection tool with the ‘+’ in the centre, by pressing the shift key.

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).

When you’re happy with your selection, right click and then click ‘Select inverse’.

Now, click the ‘Add Layer Mask’ button at the bottom of the layers panel (it’s a rectangle with a black circle in the centre), and you’ll see instantly that the background is gone.

It might not look great yet, though, but don’t worry, you can use the Refine Mask tools to improve it.

Double click on the mask in your layers panel (it’s the black and white image next to the preview of your photograph) and then click ‘Mask Edge’ in the box that pops up. You’ll now see the Refine Mask menu (right).

From here, you can make adjustments to the mask to improve its appearance.

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.

Uncheck show radius to go back to the Refine Mask preview.

Now, use the sliders to adjust the mask until you’re happy with the look you’ve achieved.

To help, you can change the view mode by clicking the small arrow next to the thumbnail image and choosing from the drop down menu.

If you now want to add your photograph to a new background, you can do so by opening up the background image in Photoshop and simply dragging the image you just cut out onto the background image.

You can adjust the size of your image (in the case the Giraffe) by pressing Cmd/Ctrl + T, then holding Shift while you drag the Transform box’s handles.