Lucky you, today Adobe has simplified a lot of tools for the design process. When I was a graphic design student ten years ago, the steps to remove the image background in Photoshop were much more complicated and less intelligent.
You probably already know which tool you should use to remove the background, Quick Selection or Magic Wand, right? Yes! You’re on the right track. But there’s something easier. Guess what? Now you can actually remove the background of an image using its Quick Actions.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn two methods to quickly remove the image background in Photoshop.
Contents
2 Methods to Remove Background of an Image in Photoshop
Note: Screenshots are taken from Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 Mac Version. Windows or other versions might look different.
Method 1: Quick Actions
You can remove the majority of the background using this method, but you probably have to do small edits to get a perfect image.
Step 1: Open your image in Photoshop and unlock the layer.
Step 2: Select the image layer and go to the Properties panel. You should see an option under Quick Actions, which is Remove Background.
That’s it. Two quick steps! This should remove most of the background.
Tips: You use the Magic Wand Tool to remove the “leftover” background. If it removes some parts of the image that shouldn’t be removed, use the eraser tool to bring it back by erasing the area on the layer mask.
Now you can add color, text, or any design elements you like.
Tips: If you’re removing the background of the image to use in your commercial design, you should check the copyright of that image before you use it.
Method 2: Magic Wand Tool
This method works great when the background of your image is a solid color.
Step 1: Open your image in Photoshop and unlock the image.
Step 2: Add a new solid color layer.
Tips: Choose a bright color to assist you to see clearly which part of the background needs to be removed.
Step 3: Move the color layer underneath the image layer.
Step 4: Select the Magic Wand Tool and click on the area you want to remove.
In this case, it’s the white background.
Step 5: Go to the overhead menu Select > Similar. It should select all the white areas on your image.
Step 6: Hit the Delete key on your keyboard and the background will be gone.
You can zoom in to check if all white background areas are gone. Well, not really, there are still some white areas that you probably want to get rid of using the Magic Wand Tool.
Hold the Shift key, click on each white area and delete them. Once you’re done, hit the keyboard shortcut Command + D to deselect.
Now you can hide or delete the color layer to see the result.
Conclusion
If you’re using the newer Adobe Photoshop, awesome. You can use method 1 to quickly remove 99% of the background, there’s just 1% left that you’ll need the help of the Magic Wand Tool to work on. But, as you saw above, it’s super easy.
