REMOVE BACKGROUND in Photoshop (3 BEST WAYS to cut out hair, trees +)

How to remove backgrounds and cut out hair, trees and shapes from photos in Photoshop. In this Photoshop tutorial, Colin Smith shows you the 3 best ways to cut out anything in Photoshop including hair, trees and hard edges objects. Which is your favoriate method? Let me know in the comments.
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[@photoshopcafe]

Check out Colin's new Course: Photoshop CC Selection Secrets: photoshopcafe.com/shop/photoshop-cc-selection-secrets/

[@Nissan_Lev-Ran]

Hi Colin, I am adicted to Photoshop for many years, started with version 5 and all the way up to CC 2018 and its a pleasure to read and learn times and again plenty of your pearls.

[@photoshopcafe]

Thanks!

[@MehmetAliMD]

I have watched hundreds of videos and you are the best man! Amazing tips you are sharing thanks...

[@richardallen1961]

Colin thank you so much. Your tutorials are succinct and very informative and not boring as some are. What you are doing is commendable awesome and admirable !!! Thanks again.

[@suruha2306]

Started in 2003 with CS5, I think. You know, I watch these tutorials and many are on the same topic. But, each person does things differently, so, it is without fail that I learn some new thing every single time! I love your tuts and those of your buddies! I can honestly say, I would not have this much understanding without you! Thanks! Su

[@photoshopcafe]

Thanks :)

[@stephencahill6541]

I think I started with Version 5. Yet it has taken me until today to find a method to cut out objects as well as the ways shown. Method one will be my favourite, but Method 3 could be outstanding (once mastered!) for my needs. Thanks Colin!!

[@photoshopcafe]

You're welcome

[@fcoker73]

I just started with PS and LR last year as well as photography. It's becoming a hobby and I love it. I like all 3 ways to cut out but if I had to pick the best, it will have to be the way you did the tree. Also the way you cut the portrait by lining (I cant think of the term right now)the background first and then inverse it was amazing. Thank you very much for the video. Definitely a video to keep!!

[@FranHoganPanama]

My first PS was version 1, late 1990. I'm still enamored, entertained and fascinated, as well as addicted to it.

[@photoshopcafe]

Good to hear

[@RosaPerry]

Great tutorial. Pen tool is my favourite tool to use to cut out objects. I started with Photoshop 7 many years ago.

[@shlomoeshet8525]

Thanks for another great vid. As I recall, the first PS version I started using was 5 (not CS 5) back in 1998. Making a good selection in PS has been always a challenging task. Usually I start with the Quick Selection Tool but then I switch to other methods such as the ones shown in your tutorial. Lately I tend to play with the new Select Subject tool mainly as a starting point.

[@thomastarner8683]

Photoshop 7, and I use the pen tool the most. I've never used the color range and to be honest I didn't know about it till this tutorial. looks like I have a new tool to use now. Thanks Colin.

[@photoshopcafe]

I think you'll like it

[@shariffz4968]

This is 3 best ways...thanks at lot.

[@dontgetnastybro]

I almost all my cut outs with the pen tool, thanks for the other advices Colin!

[@photoshopcafe]

Pen tool is great, but slow :)

[@ellengoddard5647]

About four years and I'm just starting to put all the pieces together / ❤️ how you teach I feel you're one of the best

[@hungkeo8825]

I'm beginner, thank you so much for your teaching!

[@mixxinmel]

I started using photoshop in 1999 was using corel draw first. I think it was the first version released. I like the first method the most. But never knew about the second method. Thanks.

[@photoshopcafe]

Coreldraw was my first one too and photo styler

[@velocitypta]

awesome speechless teaching style

[@mbbenfield]

I started with PS 2019. I am barely getting by, my knowledge and skills is very limited. Thanks to KZbin, I am learning. Thanks!

[@cah88]

Hey Melnee, it’s been a year. How’s your photoshop journey coming along?

[@kaffycatlife]

I didnt expect that intro so I subbed

[@kaslbainwilliams6700]

because of my age i am having problems with understanding, i have tried many , and they are good but you have made it simple and easy to understand , many things in photo shop surely i am going to put it into practice right away ; thank you very much

[@bobm2410]

Started using PS (GIMP prior to that) in October 2015 with that CC version. I use all three methods you showed, plus also use the highest contrast channel with levels on occasion to get a good selection

[@lawrencekeeney4317]

I have been using Photoshop since it was first released. Now, at age 86, I am still struggling to keep up with all the revisions. However, I love this program.

[@sharadkumarrege3788]

Selection has been always a difficult subject for me. Your tutorial is really great. i am looking forward to try these methods.Selection of tree is the best one out of three in my opinion. Thanks for a wonderful tutorial. Kumar

[@photoshopcafe]

Glad it was useful!

[@BruceStoneArtist]

Great tutorial liked the shortcut key for convert anchor point I had forgotten that one. Been using PS since 2 learn something every day and of course the parts I don't use every day I forget but thanks to you that is no longer a problem I just go to the cafe and go how do I do -- and there is the answer.

[@photoshopcafe]

Thanks for using the CAFE as a resource, lots more to come this year :)

[@debenusamuel1798]

Thanks got the methods.

[@RedLimeVideo]

Started in Photoshop on V1 (or whatever was the first released version code).. actually used Color Studio before PS was launched. used all versions since.

[@haseebali9591]

Thank you Sir...👍

[@victorymeatmarketltd2995]

This is going to save me so. much. time.

[@margaretwood1255]

Hi Colin; Since this video is older, is this still a great way to cut out hair? It looks pretty straight forward to me!

[@cyberpixels]

Thanks for the tutorial. I use the pen tool mostly and always forget about 'color range' great reminder! Started with Photoshop 7. I think, late 98 or early 99. Back then Illustrator came with photoshop, which I never learned (lol) I am self-taught. Love your tutorials! :)))

[@photoshopcafe]

Thanks

[@kellycardinal9609]

THANK YOU!!!!

[@Steven.v1062]

I started with Photoshop CS6 thanks mate

[@mariomifsud1302]

Thanks for you tutorials,i like them all the way you make the cutouts.

[@sandrampillay2652]

Thank you for this excellent tutorial. Will be following it very carefully.

[@mmlips]

version 4 and I'm still learning

[@sandrampillay2652]

Thank you for sharing, much appreciated. Will be using your methods.

[@jhonny007astu]

thanks this class helped me a lot.

[@bklynsam]

Actually started out with Elements on my old G3 graphite- 2001 I think - Was on dial-up. lol Loved the first 2 tips. Still struggling with the pen tool, but to be fair, haven't practiced enough. You give the best tips. thanks!

[@photoshopcafe]

Thanks, here is a tut for the pen tool photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/pen/pen.htm

[@zoiphotographer]

Quick and clear good tutorial, all in one ! Bravo!

[@chinaman7151]

When using Photoshop for 15 years and the very first for the shop I use was Photoshop five back in high school.

[@heavenpersephone7902]

I have been using photoshop for a few months and have started on the 2021 version heheh

[@apurbasarker7570]

Thank You

[@MrMasPick]

Been using PS for close to 10 years, starting with CS2

[@photoshopcafe]

nice! What do you use it for mainly?

[@MrMasPick]

I wear 2 hats - web developer & digital artist - so I use it mainly for the latter. d:¬{D

[@Dexter101x]

Actually all of the cut out methods

[@willock5342]

Great vid CS 4

[@naritcom]

CS6 and its the version I still use, knew all 3 versions but still find color selection a problem at times with fuzzy & range sliders

[@SaajanMR]

I started using/fiddling in around 2002, it took me an year to draw a straight line in PS as I was ignorant of Pen and Shift + draw marquee tool and stroke/fill horrible :)

[@LilianWhite]

Thank you for the tutorial, always helpful. I have trouble with select and mask for two reasons: 1) the curls at the edge are half transparent, even if I decontaminate colors; 2) If I go back to select and mask after creating a layer with mask, I can't save it in the same mask, it creates a new layer whatever I choose as export. Any clue? Thanks.

[@carolhelliwell2444]

My fave was the tree cut out 😊

[@gyrgrls]

Before the more advanced features were available, as in earlier versions of Photoshop, I would resort to third-party add-ons and plug-ins, such as Corel Knockout. Knockout was one of my favorites. i still use it today on old, slower machines which cannot run CS or CC...

[@gyrgrls]

In the example with the tree, it is less memory and cpu intensive if you first select (crop) out the tree with the rectangular marquee, then cmd-j to a new layer, do the extraction, then save selection in an alpha channel. After that, the rest of the layers can be deleted, except the background layer. On slower machines or with limited RAM, this saves a lot of resources. It also minimizes file size, for those saving their PDFs to flash memory...

[@shiftaxisrecords]

Great video! Very helpful!

[@BirammaSakthiTech2017]

useful for me, thank you sir

[@susannahsofaerkramer6399]

Started with v.4 and only one undo, thank goodness v.5 came along soon after with the history panel!

[@photoshopcafe]

Yeah, that was a big update

[@PolkaDotStudio]

Using Ps for too many years to count, even though it took me a while being a hand painter, to make the switch. First version I owned, Ps CS3.

[@TherezaRowlands]

Thank you!

[@TheCreativeEdgewithJeffJohnson]

Started with version 2.5!

[@panchovcarlo]

Colin, I see lots of tutorials about trimming photos of hair, but most of them are like your photo with solid backgrounds. Most of the photos I want to use have different color backgrounds and lighting. Can you show us how you do photos that are less sharp and with different color backgrounds and lighting? We all don’t have photo studios to take images with solid color backgrounds and have to use photos with much more difficult color blends. There are a lot of tutorials with easy backgrounds like this one, but none show how to extract similar color backgrounds and multi-colored ones. Thanks

[@photoshopcafe]

look up my tutorial on cutting out difficult images

[@Camrographer]

I think the first and second method will be very useful to me. I've tried using color range and refine mask to varying degrees of success. However, your tutorial addresses some of the problems I've had with making clean selections. Do you by any chance address the blending of architectural images by luminence and color range masks?

[@isarf69]

awesome

[@adsmithtx]

I have been using Photoshop since version 1.3, I do not remember the year, but the program came on a 3 1/2 disk (16 of them if I remember... Lightroom since its inception.....

[@photoshopcafe]

Floppy Disks, yes, I remember those :)

[@DegustoDelSol]

I used Corel 1 when i was 5 :)

[@JHFHOLLERBACH]

I started with PS CS5. Nowadays I use PS CC and Camera RAW. I don't use LR. Greetings from Brazil.

[@tcconner7388]

I started using Photoshop CS3, however long ago that was.

[@Luciano_mp]

Bom, obrigado.

[@JB-xi5ek]

The tree selection. Would the colour picker work with the car, please. 3 years of paying for Photoshop CC and still a beginner.

[@1Sano]

I've been using Photoshop since 1991 PS 2.0 till my retirement 2004. My first Photoshop computer was a $36,000 Macintosh Quadra 900

[@Lysander-Spooner]

You mean $3,600 right? ;-)

[@photoshopcafe]

Long time user :)

[@michaelbhoy3011]

Yes my first was a Quadra, a 650! Long time since I've thought about it.

[@bobm2410]

Pretty much a newbie...started w/ CC 2015

[@benjaminvargas2478]

Adobe Photoshop 3. I'm now using Version 5.

[@lindajudd7647]

I started using Photoshop in 1990 with version 88.

[@ELBlDu]

I just found you on CreateLive, and wow, you are a GREAT teacher....I bought a few of yours. ty. I have a burning question. (well for now) Its regarding The photo of the sign in Newport with the neon boat (U drive) Which Newport was it ? thanks. Also, do you use Bridge more that PS? or just to organize....seems your do ing both in Bridge vs LR

[@photoshopcafe]

Hi there, thanks :) The sign is at the Lido area in Balboa Peninsula, Newport California. I usually use Lightroom the most for organization, since the class was on ACR, I used Bridge. Sign up to my newsletter at photoshopCAFE.com and I'll send you more tutorials :)

[@ELBlDu]

that site was what I was looking for when I stopped in here. Thanks for info, great sign, glad you caught it. Becoming a lost art. Ok, appreciate clearing that up, I was gettingmixed messages about Br (different instructor) so that makes more sense. Sure is allot to learn.

[@photoshopcafe]

You are at the right place to learn

[@ELBlDu]

Awesome...Editing is my biggest stepping stone to learn. It was easier to take the roll of film in and pick it up. lol Its been a long time since picking up a camera at all, my brain is like a sponge. CreatlLive has been helpful to find educators for the weak spots. Your explanations made the most sense in the bootcamp, so Im obviously subscribed. Cant wait to catch up on my clases and get creating. SO many ideas in my head, but must have tech skills 2 do so. SO happy to discover you. Looking forward to watching many YT videos too. Nice to be able to ask a question on here too. thanks again so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@michaelbhoy3011]

Many thanks for this. Watched a similar KZbin, using the same method to select hair, but found it too fast to follow. What keyboard shortcut did you use to make the brush smaller using the Quick Selection Tool?

[@photoshopcafe]

[ and ]

[@michaelbhoy3011]

@@photoshopcafe of course! Much appreciated.

[@mkm4208]

Pls which version of adobe photoshop are you using? Can these methods work on all version

[@RalphBeach]

I have been using Photoshop since version 4.

[@rodshelley1170]

Having a little schizophrenia at the beginning there, Colin? LOL.. I've been using PS since about version 4 - (not CS4). Using CC (photography plan) now. Great stuff here. I particularly liked the part on selecting the tree - that's always a hair-puller for me. I have fair success with it, but frequently get the artifacts around all the tiny branches. For instance if I take a photo in a wooded area, the small areas of sky tends to get blown out. When I try to select/mask out the sky, and drop in a darker sky, I have trouble with those white areas/artifacts. I'm going to give this a go tomorrow! Wish me luck! LOL

[@photoshopcafe]

Good Luck!

[@paulscottfilms]

He means dual personage. Schizophrenia is a form of psychopathology .

[@bartverstraete696]

Dear Sir, First of all, love your tutorials. Concerning the one on selecting hair via select and Mask... The option 'decontaminate colours' is grayed out on my side. What could be the reason? Kind regards Bart Verstraete

[@bartverstraete696]

Issue has been resolved.

[@rodneysandersii6997]

Photoshop 2019 I just started

[@LindaUrsin]

Don't know which version it was ut the first time I used Phototshop was in 1996

[@Camrographer]

I can't seem to find the refine selection tool in cs6. My screen doesn't provide the options that yours does.

[@photoshopcafe]

You will love this one! How to cut out Glass, smoke and water in Photoshop: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIrShYZoaK51q7c

[@annwendlick4333]

I've been having a problem with cut outs and can't find a solution...I use the magic wand and do a quick selection, then use the lasso tool (using a Wacom drawing tablet and pen) and refine the selection and save the layer mask. It all appears to be fine until I drop it over another image. The cut out shows a fine gray border where the file boundaries are, so in the tree example in this video it would have a horizontal, rectangle border around the edges of the cut out (the same size as the original file size). I've tried resetting my tablet preferences and Photoshop preferences and I still can't get rid of those fine border lines. Any ideas? Thank you-love your videos!

[@madhusoodanshimoga5725]

Not sure if you have found a solution to this. You can erase those lines using eraser tool or expand the mask.

[@chrisdei9121]

First version ever; over 15 years

[@tristanturner]

Not sure when I started but I remember CS4

[@D24design]

like you intro...

[@photoshopcafe]

Thanks!

[@carolhelliwell2444]

PS cs2 Idid Some PS cc 2018 .

[@steveg4iwr]

I have been using photoshop about 12 months. Usually unsuccessfully

[@erickroav]

LIKE

[@rockkiller124]

I dont have select/mask button :/

[@gtwhimself]

Photoshop 2

[@joshuagharis9017]

Not long...just started PS

[@b.b.blaquebikerbookchickle8365]

I think it was 3.0 or 4.0

[@megatrack67]

Using Ps since 3 months

[@cyberpixels]

1996 - Photoshop 7

[@ellacarlson8598]

I've been using Photoshop since Version 3, September, 1996

[@alexandrapanduro3457]

I just started a week ago lol

[@angelagreen9047]

4 months

[@paulscottfilms]

Unnatural and directly opposing colours > the girls hair [red] and background [blue] is the way tutorials always show the selection, mask and refine . These conditions don't arrive naturally and I find generally the selection mask and fine selection a disappointment. Colour selection will work reasonably with an even sky , and consistent leaf colour of the tree. Photoshop images are vamped around for a reason.

[@carnutslife]

Photoshop 3.0 1999

[@alexmusica78]

YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO PUT THE LINK WHERE WE CAN GET THESE EXACT IMAGES, BUT I SEE NOTHING THERE!!! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???

[@photoshopcafe]

Dood! I just got back from traveling 3 states in 5 days, Im doing my best. Here is the link (really, no need to shout, just ask) photoshopcafe.com/cut-anything-photoshop-3-best-ways-remove-backgrounds-photos/

[@alexmusica78]

I DON'T KNOW WHAT DOOD IS, DUDE!!! AND WHO SAID I WAS SHOUTING??? THIS IS THE WAY I ALWAYS TYPE!!! I'M JUST SAYING WHAT YOU SAID IN THE VIDEO DUDE!!! CHILL OUT MAN!!! I DID ASK, "WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???" REALLY, NO NEED TO JUDGE!!!

[@photoshopcafe]

All caps is considered as shouting in online communications.

[@alexmusica78]

photoshopCAFE WTF??? NO IT'S NOT!!! NOT EVERYBODY THINKS LIKE YOU!!! THANKS FOR THE IMAGES THOUGH, DUDE!!! DON'T FORGET ANYMORE...