How to Remove Background in Photoshop?

Removing the background from a photo involves separating the background from the image and isolating the subject. The process is important to make the image clean, professional, and appealing to its intended viewers. In the era of e-commerce, background removal is the primary image editing technique that helps retailers showcase their products on online platforms in an attractive way. But how do you remove photo background? There are several ways to remove photo background. In this blog tutorial, I’ll tell you 7 simple background removal tools and techniques on how to remove background in Photoshop. 

Pen Tool

The pen tool is the most reliable and popular background removal method in Photoshop. This tool will give you the most control and precise outcome compared with all other techniques. Below is the process of using the pen tool for background removal:

1. As before, start by duplicating your current layer by pressing CTRL + J in Windows or Command + J in Mac. Hide the visibility of the original layer by clicking on the eye at the layer panel. 
2. Select the pen tool from the toolbar. Start selecting the subject that you want to isolate by clicking on its edges. 
3. Work all around the subject, and create an outline of the subject by clicking and placing anchors around it. Complete your path by coming back to your starting anchor point. 
4. Now it’s time to save your path. Find and click on the ‘path’ panel next to the layer panel. If you do not find it there, click on window → paths. 
5. Find and click on the three bars at the right of the paths panel. Click on ‘Save Path’. 
6. Now right-click on the path you have just created on the path panel and select ‘ make selection’. A dialog box will appear. Just click ‘OK’ leaving everything default. 
7. Click on Select → Inverse. Marching ants will now appear around the edges of the image. Now press delete and you’ll see your background will disappear.

Remove Background Tool

Using the ‘remove background’ tool is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways of removing background from an object. Below are the processes you need to follow to use this tool –

1. Duplicate your current layer by pressing CTRL + J in Windows or Command + J in Mac.
2. Go to ‘Windows’ at the menu bar and select ‘Properties’. A new panel will pop up on the right-hand side of your display. 
3. Select the remove background button by clicking Properties → Quick Action → Remove Background
4. The tool will automatically find your subject and remove the background by creating a mask around it.

Background Eraser Tool

The eraser tool is another great option for removing background in Photoshop. This tool will allow you to manually erase your background from the image in Photoshop. As the process is completely manual, it requires time and effort to get a good outcome. Below is the way of how you can use the background eraser tool:

1. Start by duplicating your current layer by pressing CTRL + J in Windows or Command + J in Mac. Hide the visibility of the original layer by clicking on the eye at the layer panel. 
2. Navigate to the toolbox and right-click on the ‘Eraser’ tool. A set of different erasers will appear. Select ‘Background Eraser Tool’.
3. Now go to the tool option bar at the top and optimize the options as needed. My favorite settings are – brush size: 50 px, hardness: 100%, sampling: continuous, limits: find edges, and tolerance: 25%. 
4. Now start erasing the background by clicking and holding the brush tool on the background that you want to remove. 
5. Zoom on the image while removing the background from the fine edges of the subject. Undo your work if the tool erases a part of the subject.

Lasso Tool

1. Start by duplicating your current layer by pressing CTRL + J in Windows or Command + J in Mac. Hide the visibility of the original layer by clicking on the eye at the layer panel. 
2. Find the lasso tool in the toolbox. Right-click on the tool and it will show different options. Select ‘Magnetic Lasso Tool’. 
3. Click on the edge of your subject that you want to select. Now go around the subject and the tool will automatically select the object by creating a path around it. 
4. Once you’ve come to the starting point of the selection, click on it and the selection path will be changed into moving ants. 
5. Go to the Select option at the menubar and find Save Selection. 
6. After you have saved the selection, Click on Select → Inverse. Marching ants will now appear around the edges of the image. Now press delete and you’ll see your background will disappear. 

Magic Wand Tool

If your subject has a clear and bright contrast, using the magic wand tool is a good and quick way of removing the background. It is an automatic selection tool. Below is a short description of how to work with it. 

1. Start by duplicating your current layer by pressing CTRL + J in Windows or Command + J in Mac. Hide the visibility of the original layer by clicking on the eye at the layer panel.
   
2. Find the ‘Object selection tool’ in the toolbox. Right-click on it and find the ‘Magic Wand Tool’ from the option.
   
3. Now click on the subject that you want to isolate from the background. If the subject is single-colored and has a clear contrast, then it’ll be automatically selected by moving ants around it.
   
4. Finally, click on Select → Inverse. Marching ants will now appear around the edges of the image. Now press delete and you’ll see your background will disappear. 

Quick Selection Tool

Like the magic wand, the quick selection tool is also a kind of selection tool in Photoshop. Below is the way of how to use this tool to remove your image background:

1. Start by duplicating your current layer by pressing CTRL + J in Windows or Command + J in Mac. Hide the visibility of the original layer by clicking on the eye at the layer panel.
2. Navigate to the selection panel and click on the ‘Quick Selection Tool’.
3. Start painting the subject of your image that you want to isolate from the image.
4. Moving ants will appear. Continue painting on the subject until you can select all the edges. 
5. If the selection path goes out of the subject, then select ‘subtract from selection (-)’ from the selection bar at the top. Now paint the selection that you want to remove. 
6.  After you have selected the subject perfectly, go to the Select option at the menubar and find Save Selection. 
7. After you have saved the selection, Click on Select → Inverse. Marching ants will now appear around the edges of the image. Now press delete and you’ll see your background will disappear. 

Object Selection Tool

The object selection tool is an easy way of removing the background from an image. If your subject is bright and has clear contrast, then this tool can save you time while removing the background. It is an automatic selection process. Below is the way of using this tool:

1. Start by duplicating your current layer by pressing CTRL + J in Windows or Command + J in Mac. Hide the visibility of the original layer by clicking on the eye at the layer panel.
2. Navigate to the selection panel and click on the ‘Object Selection Tool’. Make sure the ‘Object Finder’ in the selection bar at the top is enabled.
3. Now hover your mouse pointer on the image. You’ll see the selectable parts of your image will be highlighted.  
4. Select the subject you want to isolate. Moving ants will appear and your subject will be selected automatically. 
5. Finally, click on Select → Inverse. Marching ants will now appear around the edges of the image. Now press delete and you’ll see your background will disappear.

Bottom Line

Learning the tools that I have mentioned is essential but they can not guarantee you to produce a clean and sharp result. You will need to have a deep understanding of Photoshop and need to have an understanding of when to use the right technique for perfect background removal. In addition, if you can learn some advanced image editing techniques such as layer masking, and alpha channel masking then it’ll be an added advantage. Finally, you need continuous learning, dedication, and practice if you want to remove a background in Photoshop professionally.