Using Photoshop: How To Extract An Image From It's Background

Do you want to make a color photograph black and white? Turn white clouds pink? Or how about put the head of a giraffe on your husband’s body?  Maybe you want to remove age details from a client’s face or sample their complexion to prepare the image for an airbrushing technique?  What about the ability to remove a scar or that mole on your face that’s been with you for years?  The Photoshop photo editing software by Adobe allows much freedom for photo manipulation and improvements.  These are just a few examples of the limitless possibilities lying in the belly of Adobe’s Photoshop. 

A photographer’s ability to change the background or manipulate an image is a skill every photographer should have.  This blog post will provide step by step instruction on how to extract an image from its original background in Photoshop. 

1.  Access Photoshop from your program files location or from your computer's desktop.

2.   Press <File> <Open> or Ctrl+O to open a new file which in this case would be an image.  Photographs are normally found in your downloads or picture folders.  For best results, be sure the photograph is of professional quality.

3.  Double click on the photograph you wish to edit.  It should now appear in the workstation of the Photoshop program. 

4.  To protect the original details in the picture, make a copy of the image in Photoshop by clicking the <Layers> tab and select <duplicate layer>.  Another dialogue box will appear asking you to name the duplicated copy of the photograph.  Often times, I use the default <Background Copy>.  Duplicating an image is a good habit to practice when editing photos in Photoshop.  This ensures the original photograph is not altered; only the copy.

 

5.  You are now ready to begin the process of extracting a photograph from its background!

6.    Make sure the image layer is selected by clicking the <move tool> in the tools panel.  Click the photograph once then hold down the left mouse button and select the <quick selection> tool.  Begin to trace the portion of the image you wish to extract from the background.  This process can be tedious if you’ve never used the <quick selection> tool before. 

7.  If you happen to make an error in your selection choice, this can be adjusted by holding down ALT (-) while using the selection tool.  For example, you may have selected some of the background around the head of the image.  Don’t fret! The ALT key is your best friend and can fix any error in your selection choice.

 

8.  After your selection is made and you’re satisfied with your results, select <refine edge> which is found directly under the  <Help> tab.  Refining edge allow you to correct an imperfect selection or smooth lines out.  Here you can adjust your image to your satisifaction.  After adjustments have been made, go to the “OutPut” options in the <refine edge> diaglogue box.  This section is asking you what you want to do with your selection.  Select that you want the image you extracted to be opened in a “New Document.” 

 

9.  You can now see your image minus its original background. 

 

10.  Save the image under your pictures folder as a .PSD, .PDD file.  Saving it this way will give you the freedom to insert this picture onto any background in Photoshop.

 

 

 

Photoshop is a very powerful program. Extracting a photo from its background doesn’t even scratch the surface of this image editing powerhouse.  Practice makes perfect is key here! Have fun J