Today we will consider a simple option for replacing the background on any photograph / picture using Photoshop. As you know, the background is always the main part of the image.

This will require quite a bit of practice, you just need to cut out the desired object from one and paste it into another, and the image you get is truly practically new. Of course, this can be done without Photoshop - online using free services, for example Clippingmagic. This service is very convenient, it’s easy to understand the settings - cut out the object and replace the background with any color or make the background transparent => Download. My task today is to show how to do this using Photoshop.

Cutting out an object in Photoshop

1 step. We launch Photoshop, in my case it is the multifunctional Adobe Photoshop CS6 and open the desired image/photo in the program, preferably of good quality. File => Open.

Step 2. Now you need to unlock the layer "Background" by double clicking on it.
Next, in the small “New Layer” window that opens, leave everything unchanged and confirm OK. You will see that the lock opposite the “Background” layer has disappeared. Everything is elementary.

Step 3. Add a layer mask. See screenshot.

Step 4 Using a tool "Lasso" carefully select/cut out the fragment/object that is needed for a new image with a new background.

Step 5 We refine the edge of the cut-out area of ​​the image.

To do this, click on the tab in the top menu "Refine edge".
In the new window we can change the viewing mode - the background color, try to refine the edge using smart radius and various edge settings. An alternative option for refining the edge is to use the mouse until the background is completely cleared. Click OK.

Removing / replacing the background from an image in Photoshop

To replace the background

• 1. Click / activate the layer thumbnail tab and open the image that we need for the background (new background) - Open. An alternative option is if it is not possible to download the appropriate background from the Internet, make a new background in Photoshop yourself, for example, using the Fill and Gradient tool.
• 2. Using the move tool (left panel of the desktop menu), move the cut out fragment to a new background. This can be done by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the selected fragment. Thus, we can move any cut out objects to a new background and get more and more new images.

• 3. How to blur the background.
  If you want to change the new background, for example, blur it or improve it, then first click in the right menu on "Background", then to the top (main) tab "Filter" and select the required item from the drop-down menu. I chose motion blur, maybe Gaussian. Now all that remains is to save the modified image. Best regards, all the best to you.

Additionally read: + video on the topic.

Photomontage arose almost simultaneously with the appearance of the first photographs. To create such works, one had to resort to various tricks. For example, cut out the desired fragment with scissors, paste it onto a photo, retouch it and retake it. Today, all these actions can be done in Photoshop in just a few clicks. In this article we will tell you how to cut and paste an object in Photoshop.

How does this operation differ in different versions of Adobe Photoshop?

All examples below will be performed in the latest versions of Photoshop CC. However, they are also suitable for earlier versions of Adobe Photoshop.

In order to learn how to cut and move an object in Photoshop, it is better to choose an image on a black background for experiments.

Selecting a background

When you cut out an object in Adobe Photoshop, you get a “hole.” It is automatically filled with the background color. Obviously, such a result cannot be considered satisfactory if we are talking about removing from the photograph the figure of a horse captured against the background of a field and sky. In our case, it is enough to choose black color - and the result will be perfect. To set it as a background, you need to click on the lower colored square located below the tool icons to the left of the working window. A window with a palette will open. In it you need to select the black square and click “OK”.

Selection: option one

Before cutting out an object in Photoshop, you need to tell the program which part of the original image we are talking about. To do this, Photoshop uses different tools. Since we are currently considering the simplest case, we will select “Quick selection”. This tool is suitable in cases where the color of the cut out object differs significantly from the color of the background, since the program can automatically recognize and separate their pixels.

After you click on “Quick Select”, the cursor will change into a circle with a cross in the center. You can now click on an object until it is completely selected. If you accidentally “capture” the background, then you need to click on it with the left button of the computer mouse while holding down the Alt key. To make the selection more precise, you can use the button to reduce the brush size located at the top. It is hidden behind an icon in the form of a dark dot with numbers. You can also use the Refine Edge button. By clicking on it, you need to check the “Smart Radius” box in the window that appears, and move the “Radius” slider to the right up to a value of 10 pixels. Once the result is satisfactory, you must click the “OK” button.

Moving

If you need to cut out an object in Photoshop in order to then paste it onto another fragment of the same image, then this is quite simple to do. You need to select the “Move” tool, the icon of which is located at the top, on the left side of the working window. Then move the cursor over the selected object. Hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the desired location.

Correction

No matter how carefully you cut out an object in Photoshop, traces of its outline may remain in the image.

To prevent this from happening, you must do the following:

• after the object is selected, you need to right-click on it with the computer mouse;
• in the context menu that appears, select “Cut to new layer”;
• go to the “Layers” panel;
• Click on the eye icon located next to the new layer.

As a result, the object will be temporarily hidden, and only the background layer will be displayed on the screen. Using the Eraser tool, you can erase the remaining outline from it. To cope with this task faster, you need to increase the brush size (see above). Then the cursor, which has taken the form of a circle, needs to be moved over the place in the image where the object was, holding down the left mouse button until the background completely blackens.

Having completed removing traces of the contour, you need to:

• go to the “Layers” panel;
• turn on the layer with the object.

If everything is done correctly, the result is perfect.

Selecting an object: option two

As already mentioned, in order to learn how to cut out an object in Photoshop, we specifically chose the most primitive case with an image of an object on a smooth black background. But what to do if we are talking about a photo with a portrait of a person taken against the backdrop of a city or forest landscape? Let's look at how, in this case, you need to use Photoshop to remove the figure of a young man (see example below) and paste it onto another image. In order to successfully cope with such a task, those who want to learn how to cut and save an object in Photoshop should be patient.

For best results, use the Magnetic Lasso tool. To cut out a human figure with it, you need:

• zoom in to 100%;
• click on the outline of the selected shape so that the first marker appears;
• move the cursor along the silhouette line (new square markers will appear along the way).

If the image is unclear, the selection may not be correct. To correct this state of affairs, you can put markers yourself. To do this, click the left mouse button. Be careful when doing this, as otherwise the last marker will automatically connect to the first.

When the procedure is completed, the outline will turn into a moving dotted line.

How to delete a segment that is inside a selected path

Very often, especially when it comes to a human figure, the marked area of ​​the photo may contain areas with a background. For example, between a hand placed in a trouser pocket and the body.

This area needs to be removed from the selection. You'll have to use the same Magnetic Lasso tool. For this:

• hold down the Alt key;
• left-click on the silhouette of the foreign segment in the image;
• They highlight him in the same way as before the human figure.

Edge refinement

Surely everyone has seen photoshopped images or works on the Internet, the authors of which are popularly ironically called Photoshop geniuses. Most often they depict a person against the backdrop of a landmark that he dreams of seeing, or with a celebrity that he is unlikely to ever meet. As a rule, such photos are taken so clumsily that it is difficult not to notice the fake and believe that the image is.

To prevent your photo collages from becoming the butt of your friends' jokes, before cutting out an object in Photoshop CS6, you should master the technique of refining its edges. To do this, you need to select the appropriate tool and remove all extraneous fragments from the selection. To do this, check the “Smart Radius” item and increase its value, for example to 5 pixels. In addition, you should set the smoothing value. In a particular case, it is better to select it equal to 100% and complete the actions by clicking on the “Ok” button.

How to cut and paste an object in Photoshop

If you are completely satisfied with the selected silhouette, you can begin creating a photo collage from this and other images.

To achieve this goal it is necessary:

• right-click on the object;
• in the context menu select “Cut to new layer”;
• go to the “Layers” panel;
• open a new image, which should become the basis of a photo collage, in Adobe Photoshop;
• in the “Layers” panel, move the cursor over the layer with the object that was selected;
• click the left mouse button and continue to hold it;
• drag this layer onto an open picture, which should become the basis of the collage.

How to make a cut out object smaller in Photoshop

Very often it turns out that a fragment moved from the original photo looks like an alien spot on the final image, for example, due to a size mismatch. If the figure is too large, you need to reduce it. To do this, select any tool belonging to the selection group and right-click on the silhouette. Then in the context menu you need to click on the “Free Transform” item. Then a frame with several markers will appear around the figure, with which you can rotate the object and also change its size. The easiest way to make a figure smaller is to use corner markers. However, you need to hold down the Shift key. Otherwise, the height to width proportions of the image will not be maintained. The same mode also helps to move the object. To perform this action, you need to place the cursor closer to its center, and then hold down the left mouse button and release it when the selected shape is in the desired place. At the end of all actions, a second left-click on the object is performed.

How to remove the background

In some cases it is better to do the opposite. Let's look at how to cut out an object without a background in Photoshop. In this case, it will not need to be moved. Instead, it will be enough to replace the background. To do this, perform the actions “Select” and “Inversion”. Then perform the “Editing” and “Cut” operations. As a result, the background is painted in the selected background color.

If you need to move an object to another location, you need to use the Move tool. However, you must first go to the “Layers” panel and second-click on the “Background” button.

Now you know how to reduce the size of a cut-out object in Photoshop, move it in the same photo, or paste it into another. We hope this helps you create beautiful photo collages.

Since the vast majority of all cases of work in Photoshop involve processing ready-made images, the lion's share of the program's tools are designed to perform this operation.

Filters (read about them in the previous lesson) are a fairly small and very easy to use part of them. In this article we will look at more complex functions.

Since there are many tools, I will not list the entire arsenal of the editor, but will simply analyze a common example of work - cutting out a fragment of one picture and pasting it into another.

We have the sea.

There is a seagull.

And we want the seagull to soar over the sea.

Let's get started.

Preparation

At this stage, you need to open the original images and create a document to combine them.

1. First open a file with an image of the sea. To do this, press the key combination Ctrl+O or execute the command File -> Open, in the Explorer window that appears, find the file with the sea, click on it and press the Open button.

2. Open the seagull file in the same way.

3. Create a new document of 760x475 pixels. To do this, press the key combination Ctrl+N or execute the command File -> New, in the Width and Height fields, enter the specified values ​​and click OK.

4. Now we have three documents open in Photoshop, and you can navigate between them using tabs.

Moving

Pictures from open files need to be placed on different layers of the working document.

1. Go to the sea image by clicking on its title.

2. Select the entire image. To do this, either execute the command Selection -> All of the main menu of the program, or simply press the key combination Ctrl+A. As a result, the picture will receive a frame, indicating that it is selected.

3. Copy the selection by pressing the Ctrl+C key combination or in the main Photoshop menu by executing the Edit -> Copy command.

4. Go to the working document by clicking on its title.

5. Paste the copied picture - either press Ctrl+V, or select Edit -> Paste from the main menu.

6. The program created the layer for the new material automatically. Rename it Sea by clicking the layer name in the Layers panel, entering a new name and pressing Enter.

7. In the same way, copy and paste the image with a seagull into the working document: go to the picture by clicking on its title, select the entire image (Ctrl+A), copy it (Ctrl+C), go to the working document and paste the picture (Ctrl+ v) . The layer was also created automatically, rename it Seagull.

As a result, our working document acquired two new layers on which the original images are placed.

Transformation

We will talk about it in more detail, but for now we really only need one simple tool.

As you have probably already noticed, the drawing with a seagull is much larger in size than the drawing with the sea. And the seagull itself is also too large for the chosen landscape - it will not fit into the scale.

To fix this, you need to reduce the entire image with the seagull to an acceptable size.

To do this, we will use the Free Transform tool, which allows you to change the shape and size of the image.

1. Using the Move tool, move the image with the seagull so that the bird does not remain behind the frame and is fully visible.

3. Select the seagull layer: make sure it is active and press Ctrl+A.

4. In the main menu, select Edit -> Free Transform, or press the key combination Ctrl+T.

5. Reduce the size of the picture to an acceptable size, paying attention to the size of the seagull - it should fit harmoniously into the seascape. To make it smaller, drag the rectangles that appear in the corners of the picture. To resize proportionally, hold down the Shift key.

6. To complete the conversion, change the tool (for example, select the Move tool) and in the question window, click the Apply button.

Select and cut

Now the most important thing remains - to cut out the seagull so that it floats above the sea. True, in fact, we will not cut out the seagull, but the entire sky around it, that is, the bird, on the contrary, will remain, but everything from its picture will be deleted.

To cut, you first need to select, and this is the hardest thing to do. There are many tools for selection in Photoshop: various types of lasso, Quick selection, Fragment selection, etc. Each has its own narrow specialization and its own subtleties.

We will use the Magic Wand tool, which automatically finds areas with pixels of similar color and selects them.

1. On the Tools palette, click the Magic Wand icon.

2. Pay attention to the options panel.

The number in the Tolerance field determines the width of the allocated color spectrum. For example, if the value is zero, the Magic Wand will select only those pixels in the picture that are identical in color to the selected one. If set to 16, the tool will select pixels 8 units darker and 8 units lighter than the selected one. In our case (the background contrasts well with the seagull), the value can even be equal to 100, and the excess will still not be highlighted.

The button makes the borders of the selected area smoother; it must be pressed.

If the button is pressed, the program will select pixels only in areas adjacent to the selected one, that is, it will eliminate the possibility of highlighting an area with similar shades in another part of the picture.

But it’s better not to press the button, because then the Magic Wand will select the area on all layers, and not just on one.

3. Making sure that the seagull layer is active, the Magic Wand tool is selected, and the previous selections are deselected (Select -> Deselect). When you are sure, click on the bird itself with the mouse button.

4. She stood out. But we need to remove not it, but everything around it, so in the main menu, run the command Select -> Invert so that everything surrounding the seagull becomes selected.

5. Now simply delete the selection by pressing the Delete key. There was only one seagull left above the sea.

6. Execute the command Select -> Deselect.

7. Click on the Move tool icon and select the seagull layer (Ctrl+A).

8. Move the seagull to any place, if necessary or simply desired, and deselect it.

Preservation

The most important thing left is to save the result to a file. Export the resulting image to your favorite format using the File -> Export command (we already talked about this in more detail in the very first lesson). In case you suddenly want to return to editing the picture in the future, save it in .PSD format.

Cutting, separating or extracting something in any graphic editor - all these are, in fact, synonyms for one procedure, which ends with isolating the selected object. Therefore, tasks such as cutting out an object in Photoshop or separating an object from the background practically come down to selection. Isolating a selected area will not be difficult, except for copying the selection to a new layer (Ctrl+J) or dragging the cut fragment onto another document. In the latter case, it is important not to forget to click on the “Move” tool button at the very top of the toolbar.

Selection is performed either manually, when the outline is traced with a pen, brush, or lasso, or automatically, using the “Magic Wand” or “Magic Eraser.” In addition, color channels, masks, some filters and even special plugins are used for selection.

Selecting simple objects

The choice of tool depends on the complexity of the contour of the selected object. For example, the problem of how to cut out a face in Photoshop (if it is not very “crumpled”) can be solved by using a regular or polygonal “Lasso”, or “Quick Mask”, or “Feather” for selection ( very labor intensive).

If everything is clear with the lasso, then when using the Quick selection tool, the call button for which is located at the very bottom of the toolbar, there are some nuances.

Quick mask

Firstly, you can completely paint over the face with a black brush, or, having selected the size, carefully outline the outline, then fill it with black from a bucket (the "Fill" tool). Errors are corrected with a white brush.

Having applied the mask, click on the quick mask button again - and the selection is ready. But it’s not the face that is marked, but everything outside the mask, so the selection needs to be inverted (Select > Invert) and transferred to a new layer (Ctrl+J) or dragged to another document. You can do without inversion by simply deleting the selected background, and then using the Crop Tool to crop the image to the desired size.

Quick selection

We cut out the face, but if anyone is interested in how to cut out an entire person in Photoshop (and this is also a simple task), you should know that in this case, the best option for selection seems to be the companion of the Magic Wand - the Quick Selection tool. (Quick Selection).

This tool has its own brush with customizable parameters, which, analyzing the color specified when you click the mouse, automatically selects adjacent colors as you move along the path. The more contrast the border between the human figure and the background, the better the result.

Lasso with magnet

The “Magnetic Lasso” also works well with the human figure, which recognizes the line of maximum difference in contrast, brightness or color, and literally sticks to it, so that you can cope with such a simple task as cutting out an object in Photoshop, like The lasso is easy, especially if the border between the subject and the background is quite contrasting.

Selecting complex objects

The tools discussed above can also be used for objects with complex outlines, but for such cases it is more common to use the Pen tool, color channels, or, even better, the Extract command in the Filter menu. If someone does not have such a filter, you can easily download it from the Internet and then place the file in the Plugins folder of the program installation package.

How to cut out an image in Photoshop? To do this, they often use the Freeform Pen tool, which is used to trace an outline like a pencil, but for complex objects it is better to use a simple one.

Having created (and necessarily closed) the outline of the object, right-click on it and select the “Create Selection” command, after which you will be asked to specify the feather radius and the smoothing function, and if you open the Paths panel (Window > Paths), you can select “Load outline as a selected area" without any conditions by clicking on the icon with a dotted circle.

Special highlight

Some users, including high-flying professionals, when resolving issues of how to cut something out in Photoshop, regardless of the complexity of the object being extracted, remain faithful to the Pen Tool.

Having created a closed contour of an object from sequentially placed anchor points, right-click on it and select the “Create selected area” command, then, setting the shading radius (if necessary), press OK.

The most important advantage of the Pen is its high precision, since this tool manages to select part of a pixel, eliminating the jagged edges of the subsequent selection. The "pen" simply makes the part of the pixel outside the selection transparent.

With this tool, of course, you can highlight everything, if only you have enough patience and skill, especially since for precise contouring you can enlarge the image to the maximum. But if you are concerned about how to cut out hair in Photoshop, there is no better tool than the Extract filter, although many may argue with this statement.

Extraction of secretions

Go to the "Filter" menu and click on the Extract line. In the luxurious filter dialog box, select the main tool Edge Highlighter (like a felt-tip pen) at the top left and draw around the object so that the border of interest to us is inside the “felt-tip pen” line, the thickness of which (Brush Size) and color (Highlight) are set in the toolbar on the right. If you make a mistake, the Eraser Tool will help, as well as the undo command (Ctrl+Z). If you check the Smart Highlighting checkbox, the program will more accurately determine the border, and the line will be thinner. But if you are wondering how to cut out a person in Photoshop, you don’t have to do this.

After completing the stroke, select the “Bucket” (Fill Tool) at the top left. By clicking inside the outline, we fill it with paint, thereby indicating to the program what exactly needs to be left, deleting the rest. Only after this the OK button will come to life, and you can confirm the completion of the procedure, and then make sure that the result is perfect.

Surely there will be particularly inquisitive users who may think about how to cut out a complex object in Photoshop without resorting to standard tools, and one of these extraordinary methods is associated with color channels.

Cutting using color channels

The essence of the method is to determine the most contrasting channel for the selected object (the “Channels” tab on the layers panel) and subsequent image processing in order to reveal the smallest details of the contour.

Having determined the appropriate channel (often blue), the desired layer is duplicated, and then on the copy (depending on the characteristics of a particular image) one of the brightness-correcting functions ("Curves", "Levels", "Brightness/Contrast") is used to obtain the maximum contrast border of the selected object, extremely darkening it (even to black) against an intensely lightened background. You can use the burn/dodge tools, as well as black and white detail brushes.

Having achieved the desired result, click on the channel duplicate layer on the image thumbnail with the Ctrl key, switch to RGB mode, return to the “Layers” tab to the finished selection and delete the background (Delete). You can put a dark background under the cut-out object and work on the outline by going to “Layers” and selecting the “Layer Processing” command, where you can remove the border and remove halos (black or white).

Cut out, specifying the edge

It’s no wonder that many users are interested in how to cut in Photoshop CS6, because starting from version CS5, the editor has acquired the amazing “Refine Edge” function, which is available in the “Selection” menu when an object is actively selected. In addition, you will see such a button on the far right in the settings panel if you enable any of the selection tools.

This feature can bring any highlight to life. The “clarifier” settings are simple and straightforward.

Having chosen the View of the border between the background and the object to your taste, we move on to the settings for its detection. If you select “Smart Radius”, the program itself will understand the nature of the selection and adjust it according to its own considerations. In difficult cases, it is better to rely on the intelligence of Smart Radius, which is quite enough to easily solve the question of how to cut out an image in Photoshop.

The “Radius” adjustment slider determines the size of the width of the refinement zone (in pixels), which depends on the image resolution and the detail of the contour.

In the group of edge settings (Adjust Edge), the names of the functions (Smooth, Feather, Contrast and Shift Edge) speak for themselves.

Tools that refine the edge (“Refine radius tool” and “Erase Refinements Tool”) are opened with a button with a brush icon.

We move a brush, pointed in the right way, over the problem area (not detailed enough), and the program will obediently deal with it, and if it overdoes it, the eraser will intervene.

In the “Output To” drop-down list, we are offered to select a convenient type of presentation of the result, but we are interested in the “Selection” option, because you can cut out an object in Photoshop only by first selecting it.

Clicked OK, removed the background (cut out the object), placed it on a new base, and the object was “decorated” with unsightly fringe of an incomprehensible color? Select it again (Ctrl+click on the image thumbnail), call up the Refine Edge window and select “Decontaminate Color”. In response, Photoshop will remove (or at least try to) remove the colored fringe, recoloring as many pixels as you specify with the Amount slider.

Many users who just need to crop an image use a rectangular selection or a clipping mask, but this is not the most rational solution, since you can cut a photo in Photoshop using the Crop Tool, for which it is, in fact, and invented.

Cut to fit the frame

Having turned on the crop tool "Frame" (Crop tool), stretch the frame of the desired size on the image with the mouse and click on the checkbox in the settings panel at the top right (with the hint "Crop") or press Enter. The frame will expand from the point at which you click the cursor cross. Then you can stretch/compress it by holding the corners or sides with the mouse, but you won’t be able to move or tilt it, but you can move and rotate the image itself.

Pictures for the site

Obsessed with the desire to quickly create his own website, sometimes a user cannot resist the stunning PSD layout he comes across, downloads it, eagerly opens it, and suddenly freezes in bewilderment, discovering that he does not know how to cut out design elements in Photoshop.

Let's say we need to cut out a rectangular object (logo, header, drawing, etc.). If the element consists of two or more layers, select them simultaneously in the palette (with the Ctrl key pressed), merge them (Ctrl+E), and then, turning on the Rectangular Marquee tool, carefully create a precise selection around the object.

Now go to the "Edit" menu and select either "Copy" (if there is one layer) or "Copy combined data" (if there are several layers). Next, create a new document (File > New), go to “Editing” and click on the “Insert” line. All that remains is to select “Save for Web” and continue in the same spirit.

To create, for example, an interesting multi-layer collage in Photoshop, most often you need to separate the selected object from the background for its subsequent movement. Let's look at how to cut out a person, in particular the silhouette of a child, using Adobe Photoshop CS5 from a photo.

Launch Photoshop. In the main menu of the program, select the “File” tab → “Open...”. Next, open the folder with the photo on your computer and drag it into the working window. To separate the silhouette from the background, it must be selected. To get started, use the Quick Mask and Brush tools. Next, find a quick mask on the toolbar (a rectangle with an eye) or immediately click the “Q” key. Then activate the “Brush” and set the appropriate size in the options bar. Gradually start painting over the object with the brush in mask mode. To enlarge the brush, click the curly bracket ), to decrease it – (. If necessary, zoom in on the image using the “Navigator” palette and the corresponding slider. Finish painting. If you think that you accidentally went beyond the edges, then activate the “Eraser” and work with it like brushes. Then turn off the “Quick Mask” tool. Pay attention to the baby shown in the photo - the outline has become dotted, in other words, it has been highlighted. Next, go back to the toolbar and activate one of the selection tools. Now move the mouse over the photo and click on right-click on it. In the window that opens, select the “Cut to new layer” command. Take a look at the “Layers Palette”. The silhouette of the child has moved to a new layer. For clarity, uncheck the first layer - it will turn off.