🎨 My Background Removal Adventure: What I Experienced While Isolating an Object in Photoshop
Hey everyone 👋
Last week, I spent three days wrestling with Photoshop just to clean up a profile photo.
I thought, “It's just removing a background, what's the big deal?”... but apparently there was 😅
In my first attempt, half of my hair disappeared; in the second, even my ear was gone.
So this post will be a bit of a guide, but also a bit of a confession.
I thought I'd explain it step by step in case you can do it without struggling.
✂️ 1. Quick Selection Tool: My First Attempt (and First Disappointment)
It took me 10 minutes just to find the tool. There's a little brush icon; you click on it and go over the area you want to select. The logic is this: Photoshop guesses the edges for you. But the guessing part can be a bit overzealous sometimes 😄
Once, it counted me and the curtain in the background as one piece.
You can undo the excess by holding down the “Alt” key, but it's a bit annoying until you get the hang of it. Still, it works pretty well on simple backgrounds. I usually prefer this method for product photos with white backgrounds because it's both fast and risk-free. But if you have a complex background, stop right there, let's move on to the other method immediately.
🧠 2. Select Subject: When Photoshop Says, “I've Got This”
This is available in newer versions. You click it, and it finds you or the main subject on its own.
When I first tried it, I was like, “Wow,” because it really did select me.
But then I noticed part of my shoulder was missing.
So it's nice, but don't trust it 100%.
I usually turn on this feature and then go to the “Select and Mask” screen.
It's much easier to fix the details there.
🪄 3. Select and Mask: The Real Wizard Takes the Stage
This is where I spend most of my time in Photoshop. There's a brush on the right called “Refine Edge Brush,” which you use to tidy up hair, feathers, and such. But sometimes it gets a little too enthusiastic. For example, once it mistook the collar of my jacket for “hair” and erased it.
Pro tip: Check the “Output To → New Layer with Layer Mask” option at the bottom.
This way, the original photo remains, and it just creates a new masked layer.
So if you make a mistake, you can go back without hitting “undo.”
I was really happy when I learned this, because at first I was deleting things directly...
and of course, I regretted it later. 🙃
✏️ 4. Pen Tool: Work Patiently, Get Clean Results
Deleting the background with the Pen Tool is a bit like meditation.
You draw the border by hand, you decide exactly where it goes.
But it takes a lot of patience, no lie.
Once, while drinking coffee, my hand slipped, and I had to redo the whole drawing.
But in the end, this always gives the clearest and smoothest edges.
It's perfect for things with straight edges, like logos and product photos.
Little tip: use fewer points.
If you click, click, click at every corner, the shape gets distorted, and then you have to struggle.
Fewer but neat points are best.
⚡ 5. Remove Background: The “Maybe” One-Click Feature
This feature came in the latest versions.
There's a button called “Remove Background” under “Quick Actions” in the Properties panel.
You press it, and it takes care of it.
But it might be a bit early to think it “took care of it” 😅
It's perfect for some photos, but leaves blurriness around the edges in others.
I usually try this first, then touch up with “Select and Mask.”
It's a lifesaver in emergencies, but don't expect miracles.
I don't know if one day there will be a magic button that removes the background flawlessly with a single click, but for now, we're making do with these 🙂
Even as I write this, I feel the urge to try it again.
Thank you for reading! I hope this little guide makes your work easier too.
I'd love it if you shared your own methods in the comments 💬
Maybe I'll try your tips in the next post 🎨