Raise the Bar: Removing Backgrounds in Photoshop

I’ve oftensaid that I think Photoshop is the missing link in most learning developers’tool sets. Photoshop allows you to create almost any type of image usingdigital drawing, painting, and (of course) photography tools in a single digitalenvironment.

When it comesto removing backgrounds in photos, how you approach removal is more a factor ofthe type of image you’re working with than anything else. Some types ofimages—often those with a high level of contrast—are fairly easy to move(Figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1: Images like thesefacilitate easily removing backgrounds. This ship could easily be removed fromthe water and placed in another image.

Figure 2: Removing thebackground would be much more difficult with this image due to the wispystrands of hair and the lack of contrast between the hair and the backgroundcolor

 

Removing geometrical objects from background

When you wantto remove an object with a recognizable geometric shape, your job will befairly easy, as there are several tools within Photoshop that will facilitate thistask.

Inside yourPhotoshop tool palette, there are two sets of tools that you can use to makegeometrical selections. Let’s start with the two marquee tools (Figure 3).

Figure 3: This is the firstof two sets of tools that you can use to make geometrical selections. The marqueetools facilitate selecting areas within an image.

The Rectangular Marquee tool allows you toselect any rectangular area within the image. Similarly, the Elliptical Marquee tool allows you toselect any elliptical or circular area within the image.

For example,in the image below (Figure 4), I used the Elliptical Marquee tool to select thecut half-orange. Once you select a part of an image, you will see the “marchingants” surround the selected portion of the image. You can also enter Quick Mask mode (Q key) (Figure 5) to moreeasily see exactly what is selected.

Figure 4: A selection madeusing the Elliptical Marquee tool

 

Figure 5: The same image inQuick Mask mode

Once you exitQuick Mask mode, to remove the background you can use the Inverse option underthe Select drop-down menu. This will reverse the selection so that everythingbut the cut orange is selected. Now, assuming the layer with the image is stillselected in your Layers panel, simply press the delete key on your keyboard andthe selected area will disappear (Figure 6).

Figure 6: We’ve successfullyremoved the rest of the image, leaving only the perfectly round orange slice

Obviously,most images are more complex than our orange image. If there are stilldiscernable geometric shapes, we can use the Polygonal Lasso tool or the MagneticLasso tool to facilitate removing the background (Figure 7). The PolygonalLasso tool allows you to select any polygon. The Magnetic Lasso attempts tosense what you are trying to remove and attaches the selection to a border itcan find.

Figure 7: The lasso tools facilitateselecting more complex geometrical shapes

The church inthe image below (Figure 8) is a perfect candidate for the Polygonal Lasso tool.There are distinct polygons here.

Figure 8: Due to thedistinct geometric shape of this church building, the Polygonal Lasso toolwould be the best choice to remove it from the background

To use the PolygonalLasso tool, select it from the toolbox, and then click on each corner of thebuilding. You’ll see lines appear tracking the sides of the building. When you’veclicked on all the corners, click where you started to close the selection(Figure 9). Again, you can use Quick Mask mode to verify your selection.

Figure 9: A nice, tightselection made using the Polygonal Lasso tool

Again,inverse the selection, and press delete to free the church from the background (Figure10). Once the background is eliminated, you are free to compose a new imageappropriate for your learning content.

Figure 10: Mission accomplished. Thebackground is removed while the church is preserved.

For morecomplex removals, I like using the MagicWand tool and the Quick Selection tool(Figure 11). These tools work based on color differential, looking for areas ofcontrast within the image.

Figure 11: The QuickSelection and Magic Wand tools work based on color differentials, rather thanshapes or areas

These toolsare good candidates to use with images where the part you want to select is notgeometrical. The Quick Selection tool would work well with the image below(Figure 12).

Figure 12: If we wanted touse this man in a slide, but not the background, the Quick Selection tool wouldbe a good choice to remove the background

With the QuickSelection tool, drag over the man. You can also click in areas that are tighter,and you’ll see a selection marquee gradually cover the man. You’ll notice that,due to contrast with the background, the selection is fairly easy to make. QuickMask mode will allow you to quickly verify your selection (Figure 13).

Figure 13: Another nice,tight selection made!

Once youremove the man from the original image, you can be creative and create acomposite image that is appropriate for your learning content. In the examplebelow (Figure 14), we used a new background and simple typographical treatmentto create a cover slide for learning content.

 

Figure 14: What a differencebackground makes. Using black-and-white photography with the color image of theman provides a nice contrast.

Now let’sturn to a more difficult selection.

Figure 15: Selecting the manin this image is more difficult for several reasons. The image is lowerresolution, his hair blends into the background, and there’s less contrastoverall.

With thisimage, first, using whatever combination of tools you think best, make the bestselection you can (Figure 15). Switching in and out of Quick Mask mode can beespecially helpful here as you try to make a strong selection (Figure 16).

Figure 16: You’ll notice thatthe hair on the top of his head is not selected, as some of the wispier areaswere missed by the selection tools

In Quick Maskmode, you can use the paint tool and paint in the wispy areas of hair. When you’repainting the color, black will add to the mask (selection) and the color whitewill erase selected areas. You should zoom in very tight for this and keepswitching out of Quick Mask mode to see your work (Figure 17).

Figure 17: Painting in someof the hair on top of the man’s head

Once you havemade a selection you’re happy with, you can remove the man and composite him inany appropriate image for your learning content (Figure 18).

Figure 18: We meet our friendagain—wispy hairs and all!

Thisis a process for the patient person. It takes time and effort to get thisright, but, once you do, you can make beautiful selections on almost any objectin Photoshop.