How to erase the background of a photo with Photoshop

Social networks are part of human life, sharing memes, videos and posting photos and images is one of the things we like to do the most. For many, taking great photos that get reactions and comments is really important. However, we do not always like the photos we take, either because of some detail in it, such as not being satisfied with the background of the photo.

Not for that all is lost. There are applications specifically designed to edit images, and Photoshop is one of them. Although it is a professional type program with more editing options, you can also learn how to use it. The tools that it has make it one of the photo editing applications preferred by many. In that sense, let ‘s see how to erase the background of a photo with Photoshop .

Index(  )

  1. Does it matter what version of Photoshop I have?
  2. How does Photoshop know what the background is?
  3. What is the way to remove the background with Photoshop?
    1. Selecting the Photoshop pen
    2. From an editing mask
  4. What can I do once the background has been removed from my image?

Does it matter what version of Photoshop I have?

Photoshop has been thought of as a digital tool aimed especially at photography professionals, and for this reason some have refrained from using it. However, as mentioned above, the frequent use of social networks has motivated many to give their all in editing their photos , and although there are other applications that are simple and less complex to use, do not automatically rule out said program.

In fact, all its functions allow you to make endless edits, for example, make cuts, put different effects on them , delete any object from a photo , among others. Therefore, to respond to the title of this tutorial we will focus on the version of Photoshop CS6, CC 2017, 2018 and 2019, as you can see, if you have some versions of previous years such as those mentioned, you can easily perform this action.

However, remember that applications like these receive constant updates in order to improve their functions, and the Adobe company is not far behind. This being the case, it is recommended to keep the version of Photoshop you have updated to better enjoy photo editing without any problem.

How does Photoshop know what the background is?

The truth is that Photoshop does not know the background that we are going to use, it is not an automatic function of this software. Rather, the user has an image saved in jpg format with the user’s name. So, when using the layer or the new background you must go to ‘Load selection’ and in the ‘Document’ option , select the previously saved image.

What is the way to remove the background with Photoshop?

With this image and graphic design software you can do anything to edit your images the way you want, in fact, with this type of tool you can easily move to other places without having to do it physically, because by taking a photo and placing a background you are recreating a place. This is the editing magic that so many people love.

If you are one of them, then don’t hesitate to try this excellent image and photo editor that, although it may seem tedious, is easier than you think. With that being said, let’s take a look at one of the editing options below, so carefully follow the steps to remove the background from a photo with Photoshop in the following two ways.

Selecting the Photoshop pen

The pen is a tool in Photoshop that is used to draw, and there are different forms of pen that serve different purposes for what you need to draw. However, in this case, you can also use the pen to change or remove the background. The steps to follow are those:

Once you’ve selected the image, go to the Adobe Photoshop toolbar and select the ‘pen’. Then, you must go to the bar above and click on the box that says ‘Rubber band’ . Followed by that, with the pen you surround the entire contour of the image.

As long as you’re done, click ‘Selection’ to load a new one and press OK. Later, copy the photo and for this you must go to Edition and then Copy , now you must move to the image with the background that you want to change and in the edition option press ‘Paste’. At this point, you should go to the ‘Layers’ option once you have selected it, go to the ‘Selection’ menu and then ‘Load Selection’.

In this option, you must place the origin of the layer, and if you want to polish the modification of the background of the image you can choose the width of the border or blur the image a little by selecting the pixels of the radius that best suit you.

 

From an editing mask

Now let’s see another way to erase the background of a photo, and this time we will do it with the selection tool by adding a mask. Doing it this way will allow you to more carefully edit the layer you want to remove from your photo. The first step is to go to the menu at the top of the program and click on the ‘Select and apply skin’ option .

Doing so automatically changes the screen style. Now, you must go to the right side menu and select ‘Onion paper’, then, in the toolbar press the Brush to remove everything you want to remove from the background of the photo. You can try other options to improve the editing of it by retouching or combining the brushes together with the tools located on the right side, such as the border or the feather.

What can I do once the background has been removed from my image?

As long as you have carried out the procedure to erase the background of a photo in both processes, what you can do is mount another background, the one you like. You can do this by sending your image to a new mask in order to insert a new background and apply a blur effect to give it a better style and voila. In case you have any problems, do not hesitate to access Adobe Photoshop technical support  to obtain answers.