Adobe Photoshop is a powerful image editing software that allows you to create professional images from scratch or edit existing ones.

The program has become indispensable for graphic designers, web developers, photographers, illustrators, etc.

Photoshop is well known for the high level of creativity and customizability the platform allows when it comes to manipulating images.

One of the most commonly utilized features in Photoshop is removing backgrounds from images.

This is something that is very hard to do with less capable technology, but with photoshop, it is a relatively easy skill to learn.

In this tutorial, we will be taking an example image and removing its background using Photoshop’s built-in AI “Remove Background” tool. 

We will also take a look at some other tools available in Photoshop which can help us remove unwanted elements from our photos with more controlled manual features.

Remove A Background With Help From AI In Photoshop

AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, and it is one of the most useful tools in Photoshop. It was introduced in version CS3 and since then, it has been improved significantly.

The “Remove Background” feature is part of the AI module and is used to easily remove the background from your photo. You can use it on any type of image, whether it is a RAW file or JPG.

The AI tool works by analyzing the pixels of the image and comparing them to the surrounding areas.

If there are similar colors around the edge of the object, it assumes that they belong to the same element and removes them as a single entity.

For such complicated technology, it is quite simple to learn how to use it.

  • First, open up your image in Photoshop. Make sure that the layer mask option is enabled so that you can see what is being done after each step.
  • Then select the toolbox icon in the top left corner of the screen.
  • Under “Select Tool” choose the option to “Remove Background”.
  • After this, you have the option to adjust the settings to your preferences. This can be fiddled with to get the results you want.
  • Then click on the mask button. After this, you can preview and edit the mask for this layer.
  • Then you can save your image!

This is the simplest method of removing a background and is probably the best choice for beginners to use, however, other manual methods offer more precision.

How To Remove A Background Manually In Photoshop

There is not just one way to manually remove backgrounds in Photoshop but multiple, all suited for different uses, so if you want more options, go through these and see which suits your needs best!

How To Remove A Background In Photoshop Using Lasso Mode

Lasso mode is a great tool for removing objects from images. It is often used to draw shapes over an area and then delete the parts outside the shape.

  • To start off, make sure that the layer mask is set to visible. Then load up your image into Photoshop and create a new layer above the existing layers.
  • Now draw out a circle around the object you wish to remove. Once you have drawn the line, hold down the alt/option key while clicking inside the selection box. This will turn the lasso into a freehand selection.
  • Now simply drag the selection across the image, deleting everything within the line.
  • Once complete, press ctrl+D to deselect the selection and move back to the original layer. Pressing ctrl+I will invert the selection, making the selected area appear white.
  • Now you can either merge the two layers together or hide the extra layer. Simply save the file if you are happy with the results.

How To Remove A Background In Photoshop Using The Magic Wand Tool

How-To-Remove-A-Background In Photoshop Using The Magic Wand Tool

The magic wand tool is another great tool for removing backgrounds. It allows you to quickly select areas of color and automatically selects the closest matching color.

  • Load up your image and create a new layer and make sure that the layer mask setting is visible.
  • Click on the magic wand tool at the bottom of the tools bar.
  • Hold down shift while selecting the area you wish to remove.
  • Then drag the selection across the image until you have removed the unwanted part.
  • You can now either merge the layers together or hide the additional layer. Save the file if you are satisfied with the result.

How To Remove A Background In Photoshop Using The Background Eraser Tool

The background eraser tool works very similarly to the magic wand tool, however, it has some added features.

The background eraser is different from the magic wand tool because it does not select the closest match of color, instead it selects the nearest pixel.

Depending on how you customize the tool and the brush size, you can give your image either a harder or softer edge above the background.

  • After opening the image you want to customize, create a new layer and make sure that the layer mask is visible.
  • Click the background eraser tool at the bottom of your tools bar or sometimes located as a sub-selection of the eraser tool.
  • Select the area you wish to erase by holding down shift and dragging the cursor around the area which you want to separate.
  • When you are done, click anywhere else on the canvas to deselect the area.
  • Press ctrl+D to remove the selection and move back onto the original layer.
  • Save the file if you are pleased with the results.

These are just a couple of the manual methods of removing backgrounds in Photoshop.

But they are the easiest for beginners to pick up on and will help you learn to use certain tools in photoshop which are used for a variety of other purposes.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you understand how to remove a background in Photoshop.

This guide has displayed that it is possible to remove backgrounds in a variety of different ways, with varying levels of automation.

Try out different methods on the same picture to figure out which one you think will suit your needs best!