Do you want to learn how to remove the background of a picture in Photoshop?

Knowing how to remove the background of a picture is the first step for compositing success and taking your photo editing skills to the next level.

In this post, we’ll show you how to remove the background of a picture in Photoshop in 8 simple steps to enhance your images.

Before we get started, let’s first explain why removing the background of an image is useful and when you may want to do background removal.

Why Removing the Background of a Photo?

Background removal is the most frequently used photo manipulation technique in post-processing tasks. 

Photo editors can eliminate unnecessary and unwanted objects from pictures to make them more attractive and outstanding.

Simply put, background removal is an excellent tool when you need to manipulate the look of your photos.

Some of the reasons why you’d want to remove the background are:

  • To remove unnecessary/disturbing objects
  • Enhancing the visual impact of your photo
  • Reducing eye stress 
  • Creating stunning images by switching backgrounds
  • To draw attention to a special product
  • Adding more items to the photo
  • And more.

That said, let’s look at an easy way Photoshop can help us delete backgrounds while leaving your subject intact.

Removing the Background of a Picture in Photoshop (8 Simple Steps)

If you’re a beginner in photo editing or using Photoshop, this simple way of removing the background of a picture will make you feel like a professional in no time.

You can either watch the video tutorial or continue reading the text below:

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Easy Background Removal in Photoshop

Here’s how to remove the background of a picture in Photoshop in 8 quick and simple steps:

Step 1. To get started, open the photo in Lightroom and Import/Apply the basic adjustments to it, balancing out the exposure and making sure that the object has enough brightness.
Step 2. Move it to Photoshop by right-clicking and selecting Edit in Adobe Photoshop.
Step 3. Next, duplicate the Layer and select the subject using the Pen Tool.
Step 4. Then, click to start the first Anchor and work your way around the subject, adding additional anchors to start Outlining your subject. If you need to make a curved line, ClickHold-Drag to produce a curved line, moving the mouse to adjust the curve. Keep on tracing until you meet the starting point.
Step 5. When you are done, right-click and select Make Selection. A dialog box will open, where you input the Feather Radius, and then click Ok.
Step 6. To remove the background, click Ctrl+Shift+i to reverse the selection, and press the Delete button on your keyboard.
Step 7. Now, if you wish to save this image without the background, just choose the save as PNG option. Click on File and Save as Copy, and then choose the PNG Option.
Step 8. Lastly, if you want to replace the background, just add a New Layer and Paint it with a color or choose your Preferred Background.

And that’s it!  

Wrapping Up

To conclude, this is one of the easiest ways to remove the background in Photoshop. 

However, this simple strategy doesn’t work on objects with hair or fur, where you instead need to use a clipping mask, the channel method, or similar.

As easy as this may sound to an experienced photo editor, you don’t have to struggle with photo editing yourself.

Sign up for a free PhotoUp account today to test our background removal/clipping service. 

Simply upload your photos and we take care of the background removal for you!

We hope this post helped you learn how to remove the background of a picture in Photoshop. 

Before you go, you may also want to check out the following resources: