But which one of Photoshop’s several selection tools is best for the task? That depends on the image.

Making a background transparent involves selecting what you want to keep and deleting what you don’t. How to manually remove in Photoshop Choosing a Photoshop selection tool Once you are happy with the results, you can delete the background layer and save the file as a PNG in order to maintain the transparency, or as a PSD in order to come back and make more adjustments later. With the mask selected, use a white paintbrush to add to the subject, and the black paintbrush to erase any pieces of the background that were not removed. If the result is close, but not quite perfect, click on the mask that Photoshop created automatically (the black-and-white image in the layers panel). If it doesn’t work for you, move on to the manual method below. This quick method works great for some photos, with laughable results for others. If you don’t see that transparent background, make sure your background layer is hidden. Once the program is finished, you should see the subject on a transparent background (designated by the checkered pattern). You’ll need to wait a few minutes for the program to find the subject and remove the background. Under Quick Actions, click on Remove Background. If you don’t see the Properties Panel, click on the icon that looks like this: In the Properties panel on the right, navigate to the Quick Actions section. From here, you’ll be working only with the new layer you just created. In the layers panel, click on the eye icon next to the background layer in order to hide the background. Select the entire photo (command + A on MacOS or Control + A on Windows) and copy and paste.

Start by copying the background layer in order to create the type of layer Photoshop needs to use the tool. Before you start, make sure you have Photoshop 2020, version 21.0.0 or later - if not, you’ll need to update the software first. The shortcut won’t get it right every time, but works well for simple images, and for others, can easily be refined. Photoshop 2020 comes with a new background removal shortcut that’s powered by the Select Subject tool.

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